Better yet take a hike or a horseback ride deep into the moonscape crater for the full awe-inspiring effect. As you ascend, you find yourself looking down on puffy white cloud layers normally observed only from an airplane window seat. Regardless of age or ability, it is possible to drive to the 10,000 foot peak of Haleakala volcano, while navigating many dramatic switchbacks. It is still 3,000 feet beneath the ocean so it won’t break the surface any time soon! Loihi, the newest volcano, is now forming just off the west coast of the Big Island. Haleakala Volcano on the island of Maui last erupted in 1790. Three volcanoes active during the past two centuries are on the Big Island of Hawaii, the youngest island in the chain. Each island is made of one or more volcanoes that first erupted on the sea floor and only emerged above the ocean’s surface after countless eruptions. The Hawaiian Islands are at the southeastern end of a sprawling chain of volcanoes that began to form some 70 million years ago. Increasingly over the past few years, I have personally confirmed that Hawaii’s tourism is evolving from a predictably satisfying rest and recreation haven to a destination where travelers may choose to leave behind those tantalizing mass-produced mainstream amenities to sample a more intimate experience of nature, indigenous culture, settler history, and hospitality that is uniquely Hawaiian. That one island is typically Oahu where, even there, many adventurous and educational surprises await those who venture beyond the obvious and dig deeper for vacation experiences.īuilding and maintaining large ditches or “flumes” from mountain valleys to water fields and process the sugar cane was a major preoccupation on Kaua`i in the 1800s and 1900s. While today’s annual arrivals come for only a brief stay, a mere 25% sample more than one island. It wasn’t until the 19th century that settlers from America, Europe and Asia impacted the islands each in their own ways.Īccessed from Oahu’s historic Kualoa Ranch, the dramatic Koolau Mountains are a short drive from Honolulu and a hiking magnet. Estimated date of the first human foot ashore is about 100 A.D., and significant colonies of Polynesians were not established until several hundred years after that. Looking at all the islands’ beauty and accessibility today, it is difficult to imagine that they are among the last places on earth to have been occupied by humans. In addition, this beautiful necklace of Pacific Islands, more isolated in every direction than any other piece of real estate on earth, has a significant global attraction for visitors from many other nations. It hardly comes as a revelation that the Hawaiian Islands have been the number one choice of vacation destination for Americans and Canadians for much of modern traveling history. If you prefer to go straight to alternative tourism opportunities for each island, click on Maui, Kauai, Lanai, Molokai, Oahu, and Big Island Enjoy fabulous new images and information added to this perennially popular survey article introducing Hawaii’s nature tourism, educational, cultural and historical side.Īll information has been collected first-hand by our editor, Alison Gardner.
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