Waipi'o Valley - Big Island Hawaii

Pictures enlarge if you click on them.

While Catherine and I were on the "Big Island" of Hawaii we were driving to the Hilo side of the island and we saw a sign to the Waipi'o Valley. We decided to go exploring to see the Waipi'o Valley.

Waipi'o Valley also known as the Valley of the Kings. This was the place where the Hawaiian royalty resided. There are 2,000 foot cliffs around this valley and waterfalls drop 1,200 feet from the Kohala Mountains to the valley floor.

Waipi'o was once the center of Hawaiian life and somewhere between 4,000 to 20,000 people lived here from the 13th to 17th centuries. In 1780 Kamehameha I, was singled out as a future ruler by reigning chiefs here in Waipi'o Valley. In 1791 he fought Kahekili in his first naval battle at the mouth of the valley. In 1823 the first foreign visitors found 1,500 people living here. The valley was full of fruit trees, banana groves, taro fields, and fishponds. In 1946 a tidal wave drove most residents to higher ground.

View of the coast from the road we took to the Waipi'o Valley.

A tree in bloom we saw on our trip.

View of Waipi'o Valley

There is a black sand beach at the mouth of the Waipi'o Valley.

Today only about 50 people live in the Waipiʻo Valley. These are taro farmers and fishermen living in the valley. In this photo, you can see some of their houses.

Use the search box at the bottom of this page to find previous postings on London, Amsterdam, Japan, Germany, Austria, Yellowstone, New York, Boston, Switzerland, Alps, Plymouth Mass., Washington DC, San Francisco, Manila, San Diego or Quebec.