World of Waterfalls Blog

This itinerary covers our first taste of the Big Island of Hawai’i as well as a brief stint on the island of O’ahu. Thus, I guess you can say this was our “island hopping” trip…

The pounding waves to the left were always threatening to pluck me from the coastal rocks and out into sea. And at the same time, the rugged cliffs that produced these coastal rocks also…

Hiilawe Falls (or Hi’ilawe Falls) was once one of the tallest and mightiest waterfalls in all the islands of Hawai’i. With a cumulative drop of 1450ft, it’s the crown jewel…

Waiulili Falls is the second of the ocean-bound waterfalls accessible via the sacred Waipi’o Valley (the other being Kaluahine Falls). Unlike Hi’ilawe Falls and Kaluahine…

So we were faced with the decision of whether to do the difficult trek right up to the lava flow or returning to the car wondering what if. It was now 5:30pm and the daylight was fading fast…

Umauma Falls is an attractive multi-tiered waterfall that frequents post cards as well as calendars. Visiting the falls is essentially a breeze…

Nanue Falls is really a series of waterfalls on the Nanua Stream. Just reaching a good view of one of the falls requires a very tricky and awkward scramble inside the…

Both the Hanapueo Falls and the Lower Umauma Falls are visible from a bridge along Highway 19 just north of Hilo. You’ll have to watch for a pullout on the mauka…

Rainbow Falls is a very popular waterfall near downtown Hilo. It has a large car park area and viewing area to see the falls in a ready-made post card setting…

Akaka Falls is a spectacular 420ft waterfall north of Hilo. It is the most attractive of the accessible waterfalls on the Big Island and therefore it is very popular…

Peepee Falls (or Pe’epe’e Falls) is a lesser known waterfall upstream from the popular Rainbow Falls near downtown Hilo. The public access viewing area at the…

Waiale Falls (or Wai’ale Falls) is a lesser known waterfall further upstream from both Pe’epe’e Falls and the popular Rainbow Falls near downtown Hilo. You can…

“Kolekole Falls” is a name I’m using for this little cascade which can be a popular place for swimming as well as for rope swinging when the ocean is calm…

Onomea Falls is a cascading waterfall nestled in the Hawaii Tropical Botannical Garden on the 4-mile scenic drive through Onomea Bay. The main draw of the garden…

Laie Falls (or La’ie Falls) is a small 15ft waterfall that had very light flow when I was there on a warm and sunny March day. The trail to the falls is on private property…

The relentless climb up the trail seemed like it was never ending. I was starting to get worried that I might not find the waterfall as it had started to reach the two-hour point…

The Jackass Ginger Pool is really more of a swimming hole than a waterfall attraction. I saw a couple of local boys using rope swings to plunge over these…

This itinerary of our return visit to Maui took advantage of a couple of things. First, a friend of ours let us use her timeshare in Ka’anapali, which helped alleviate some of the accommodation costs (not cheap in Maui or in the Hawaiian Islands in general)…

Trying to kill time for the next flight I saw a picture book about the Big Island, which was the last major Hawaiian Island we had yet to visit. While I was busy flipping through the pages…

Hipuapua Falls is the other of two major waterfalls at the head of Halawa Valley. This gorgeous 500ft waterfall is harder to hike to (I was told by the guide that they don’t…