now the exclusive province of visitors to the neighboring Umauma Experience, which offers an array of ziplining, rappelling, swimming, kayaking, and ATV excursions on its lush 90 acres. The less adventurous can also just pay $12 to drive the paved road to the waterfall lookout, and then take a self-guided garden hike with several more overlooks; it’s worth it. Pick up a map at the visitor center, which also sells snacks and drinks, and enjoy your repast at the river walk’s observation area, under guava trees (feel free to sample their fruit when ripe), or on the visitor center’s back lanai, which overlooks the river, a giant swing for daredevils ($19 per ride), and the last line on the zip course (see “Ziplining” on p. 247). Note: Book online for best rates. Also, the swim in a waterfall pool (seen on The Bachelorette) allows a peek in one of the only petroglyphs on the island’s east side.
31-313 Old Mamalahoa Hwy., Hakalau. umaumaexperience.com. 808/930-9477. $10 adults, free for children 11 and under; includes waterfall viewing, garden, and river walk. Daily 8am–5pm. ATV tours from $119 for rider only to $379 including driver and up to 3 passengers; kayak/swim/picnic $50; waterfall rappelling $285; zipline tours $181–$241. From Hilo, take Hwy. 19 north past mile marker 16, turn left on Leopolino Rd., then right on Old Mamalahoa Hwy., and follow ½-mile to entrance.
Waipio Valley NATURAL ATTRACTION/HISTORIC SITE This breathtakingly beautiful valley has long been a source of fascination, inspiring song and story. From the black-sand bay at its mouth, Waipio (“curving water”) sweeps 6 miles between sheer, cathedral-like walls some 2,000 feet high. The tallest waterfall in Hawaii, Hiilawe, tumbles 1,300 feet from its rear cliffs. Called “the valley of kings” for the royal burial caves dotting forbiddingly steep walls, this was Kamehameha’s boyhood residence; up to 10,000 Hawaiians are thought to have lived here before Westerners arrived. Chinese immigrants later joined them and a modest town arose, but it was destroyed in 1946 by the same tsunami that devastated Hilo and Laupahoehoe, though luckily without fatalities. The town was never rebuilt; only about 50 people live here today, most with no electricity or phones, although others come down on weekends to tend taro patches, camp, and fish.
A Taste of the hamakua coast
When the Hamakua Sugar Company—the Big Island’s last sugar plantation—closed in 1996, it left a huge void in the local economy, transforming already shrinking villages into near ghost towns. But some residents turned to specialty crops that are now sought after by chefs throughout the islands. Hidden in the tall eucalyptus trees outside the old plantation community of Paauilo, the Hawaiian Vanilla Company (www.hawaiianvanilla.com; 808/776-1771) is the first U.S. farm to grow vanilla. Before you even enter the huge Vanilla Gallery, you will be embraced by the heavenly scent of vanilla. The farm hosts one of the most sensuous experiences on the island, the four-course Hawaiian Vanilla Luncheon ($48 for age 12 and up; $28 for kids 4–11), served weekdays from 12:30 to 2:30pm. The 45-minute Farm Tour ($25 for age 4 and up; free for kids 3 and under), including dessert and tastings, takes place weekdays at 1pm. Reservations required for luncheon or tour; the gallery and gift shop are open 10am to 3pm weekdays.
Saddle up for a horseback ride in lush Waipio Valley
To get to Waipio Valley, take Highway 19 from Waimea or Hilo to Highway 240 in Honokaa, and follow the highway almost 10 miles to Kukuihaele Road and the Waipio Valley Lookout , a grassy park and picnic area on the edge of Waipio Valley’s sheer cliffs, with splendid views of the wild oasis below.
To explore the valley itself, a guided tour is best, for reasons of safety and access. The steep road has a grade of nearly 40% in places and is narrow and potholed; by law, you must use a 4WD vehicle, but even then rental-car agencies ban their vehicles from it, to avoid pricey tow jobs. Hiking down the 900-foot-road is hard on the knees going down and the lungs coming up, and requires dodging cars in both directions. Most of the valley floor is privately owned, with trespassing actively discouraged. Note that unmarked burial sites lie just behind the black-sand beach, which is not good for swimming or snorkeling and has no facilities.
Instead, book a ride on the Waipio Valley Shuttle (www.waipiovalleyshuttle.com; 808/775-7121) for a 90- to 120-minute guided tour that begins with an exciting (and bumpy) drive down in an open-door van. Once on the valley floor, you’ll be rewarded with breathtaking views of Hiilawe, plus a narrated tour of the taro patches (lo’i) and ruins from the 1946 tsunami. The tour is offered Monday through Saturday at 9am, 11am, 1pm, and 3pm; tickets are $65 for adults and $35 for kids 10 and under (minimum two adult fares); reservations recommended. Check-in is less than a mile from the lookout at Waipio Valley Artworks (www.waipiovalleyartworks.com; 808/775-0958), 48-5416 Kukuihaele Rd., Honokaa. The gallery is also the pickup point for Naalapa Stables’ Waipio Valley Horseback Adventure (www.naalapastables.com; 808/755-0419), a 2½-hour guided ride ($110) in the valley; see “Horseback Riding” (p. 245) for details.
The mule-drawn surrey of Waipio Valley Wagon Tours (www.waipiovalleywagontours.com; 808/775-9518) offers a narrated, 90-minute excursion following a van trip to the valley stables. Tours run Monday through Saturday at 10:30am, 12:30pm, and 2:30pm; cost is $60 adults, $55 seniors 65 and older, $30 children 3 to 11, and free for 2 and younger. Reservations are a must, since weight distribution is a factor. Check-in is at Neptune’s Garden, 48-5300 Kukuihaele Road, Honokaa (www.neptunesgarden.net; 808/775-1343).
Hilo
Pick up the map to a self-guided walking tour of Hilo, which focuses on 21 historic sites dating from the 1870s to the present, at the information kiosk of the Downtown Hilo Improvement Association (www.downtownhilo.com; 808/935-8850) in the Mooheau Park Bus Terminal, 329 Kamehameha Ave.—the first stop on the tour.
Hilo Bay NATURAL ATTRACTION Old banyan trees shade Banyan Drive , the lane that curves along the waterfront from Kamehameha Avenue (Hwy. 19) to the Hilo Bay hotels. Most of the trees were planted in the mid-1930s by visitors like Cecil B. DeMille (here in 1933 filming Four Frightened People), Babe Ruth (his tree is in front of the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel), King George V, Amelia Earhart,
