Kaua’i Maps

8 Honopū Beach

For Hollywood (aka “Nā Pali-wood”), Honopū Beach is a favorite movie filming location. Six Days Seven Nights, King Kong, and Pirates of the Caribbean are just a few productions that easily come to mind. Honopū Beach made its most famous Hollywood debut in Goldfinger, when James Bond is seen riding in a red helicopter, being chased under and through Honopū’s natural seaside archway.

Honopū is also known as “The Valley of the Lost Tribe.” This name refers to ancient times when this now silent, brooding valley was believed to be the setting for a group of mythical Mū people, who later vanished for no apparent reason. It is also believed that the upper valley was inhabitated by ~300 Hawaiians. They would have been shielded from invaders by the 3,000-foot high, sheer cliffs that line the back of the valley. Visitors have reported feeling a very uncomfortable, eery presence at Honopū, and it is believed that ancient spirits still wander forlornly through the valley. The Open-ceiling Cave, also known as Queen’s Bath, is actually a hollowed-out lava tube (e.g. the ceiling has crashed into the sea floor below). When you are inside of the cave, you can literally look upwards to view the sky above. In the summer season, the mid-morning sunlight streams through the cave’s dark entrance, penetrating the crystal-clear waters and reflecting off of the white, sandy bottom. The result is a boldly blended color palette of electrifying blues and greens—it’s truly spellbinding.

9 Open-ceiling Cave

Awa‘awapuhi is the narrow-

est and deepest of Nā Pali’s

Awa‘awapuhi Valley is the narrowest and deepest of Nā Pali’s remote, isolated valleys. Legends say that the name refers to the valley’s sinuous curves and twists, which wind between 3,000-foot walls, like a slithering eel, or puhi. Another legend claims that the valley is named for the wild ginger, or ‘awapuhi, that grows there. Nowadays, this valley of the wild ginger appears far less lush than it was in ancient times, since the irrigated terraces for cultivating taro plants have long since fallen away. There can still be seen a multitude of half-washed away rock dams that at one time went completely through the stream to create perfect terraces for growing taro. On its western side, at the point overlooking the ocean, is a rock wall temple platform, or heiau, once used for worship.

Nu‘alolo ‘Āinā is impressive due to the visible remains of terraces, used for growing taro. Taro, or kalo, grows in watery paddy fields and upland rainy areas, and is considered a perfect food plant all around. Its heart-shaped green leaves have a delicious, spinach flavor, while its starchy tuber is similar in consistency to a potato. Hawaiians resided in this valley for hundreds of years, well into the early 20th century. Adjacent to it, and once connected by a primitive ladder over the separating cliff, is the Nu’alolo Kai Beach and Valley, which also contains multiple, elaborate lava rock terraces visible from the ocean.

10 Awa’awapuhi Valley

11 Nu‘alolo ‘Āinā Valley 12 Nu’alolo Kai

Nu‘alolo Kai Beach was the portal to the sea for the people living in Nu’alolo ‘Āinā Valley. A premier, fishing village once flourished here, though only traces of it now remain. While plantings behind the beach provided some food and medicine for the people, it was the protected reef that was most prized for its supply of multicolored fish, seaweeds, and shellfish, such as ‘opihi limpets and pipipi snails. Outrigger canoes most likely lined the beach, ready for offshore fishing when schools of oceanic fishes like aku, akule and ‘ōmilu came near.

For a depiction of how ancient peoples may have lived at Nu’alolo Kai, see pages 12-15.

Green sea turtles bask in the sun at low tide.

13 Miloli’i Beach Miloli‘i Beach is a wide, expansive beach and a favorite camping and resting spot for kayakers during the spring and summer months, when the Nā Pali Coast becomes calm enough for day excursions. Unlike Kalalau Beach, there is no connecting hiking trail into Miloli‘i. It is accessible only by small boat or kayak. The narrow channel through the reef is especially tricky to navigate when the tradewinds are blowing strongly.

Open-ceiling Cave

Also known as Queen’s Bath, the Open-ceiling Cave is the world’s most impressive example of a littoral sink. Here, the ceiling has collapsed entirely into the sea floor below, creating a cylindrical chamber that measures ~150-feet in diameter. A narrow, seaward entrance allows small boats and kayaks to enter the cave and perform a circular route around the interior rock island. The depth inside the cave is 65-feet.

Honopu Cave

Honopu Sea Cave has its own unique features and views. As you enter, glance back at the waterfall which is framed in by the cave’s entrance. Look for schools of small fish hiding in the shadows and possibly a white-tip reef shark looking to make a meal out of those fish. See nesting seabirds in the crevices of the walls. As you get deeper into the cave, the walls of the cave edges stand out even more. The grayish-black lava rock contrasts with the pinkish-red coral growing at the surf line.

Honopu Sea Arch

Honopu Sea Arch is a popular Hollywood movie setting. Many movies have been made at this location, including Pirates of the Caribbean, King Kong, and Goldfinger with the dramatic helicopter scene of James Bond flying right through the arch. There is an air of mystery here, for the backdrop of Honopu Valley has been nick-named “Valley of the Lost Tribe.” Its ominous walls tower over 3,000-feet high. Many stories are told of this valley as being haunted by ancient warrior spirits of long ago.

Na Pali Sea Arch

Nā Pali Sea Arch is around the corner from Hanakoa Valley. On rare occasions when the sea conditions are calm, the experience of rafting through the Sea Arch may be realized. Upon exiting, the view looking west is truly a “post card moment” capturing a panoramic view down the Nā Pali coastline with waterfalls plunging into the sea from rugged sea cliffs above, and the expansive Pacific Ocean all around.

Waiahuakua Sea Cave

The Waiahuakua Sea Cave is 1,155- feet long, making it the largest of the Nā Pali sea caves, and the second longest sea cave in the United States. Waiahuakua Sea Cave means “sacred water” but is known to most as the Double Door Cave because it has a separate entrance and exit. ~200- feet into the cave, a littoral sink allows a perennial waterfall to gush down the cave’s western wall. When the afternoon summer light shines through the hole, a glowing spotlight appears in the water below.

Waiwaipuhi Sea Cave

Waiwaipuhi Sea Cave is nick-named the Pirates Cave, but literally translates to “great blowhole,” because in the winter months, the crashing surf turns the cave into a powerful blowhole that spews water straight back out to sea.