hanakapiai falls
hanakapiai valley
hanakapiai beach
hanapakiai trail
Hanakapiai Falls is a waterfall that lies 2 miles off the end of a branch of the famous Kalalau trail. One aspect of the falls which is sadly not represented well in the photo above (slightly better in the video below), is its size. The the top of the falls is about 1000 ft (305 m) up. In addition to the falling water, the canyon wall is just as impressive.
The trail starts at Ke’e beach and proceeds two miles to Hanapakai beach. This part of the trail will give you a great glimpse of some of the majestic beauty that the Na Pali coast has to offer. While the trail in this section is well defined, it has some tricky sections which shouldn’t be taken lightly due to the abundance of mud and a sharp drop off on the north side of the trail. One thing to note is that there is one river crossing at the very end before reaching the beach which isn’t difficult but prepare to get at least your legs a bit wet.
Once you reach Hanapakiai beach, a great resting stop as it serves as the midway point, you will need to proceed two additional miles to reach the falls. The early portion of this segment (first .25 mile or so) of the trail happens to be quite narrow and extremely muddy, after that it is generally a lot dryer and easier to traverse. The only difficulty part about the second segment is its lack of definition or markings. The good part is that if you don’t venture too far from the river, you’ll never be too far off. As with the first two miles, there are river crossings, three more in this portion to be exact.
Once you reach the falls, there is a beautiful large pool in which you can jump in and enjoy. One cautionary note here, you might find that you start to freeze as the water is definitely a lot colder then the ocean or rivers found elsewhere on the island. But after such a great hike, it would be a shame to pass on the opportunity.
Note: if you happen to have a pair of water shoes available, it would be highly advised to bring them along and wear them on the trek. Flip-flops (or slippers) while possible are not advised and taking sneakers on/off can be somewhat annoying when doing the four river crossings.
Related posts:
