Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
I’d love to get to the top of the world’s highest waterfall.
original – flickr – MaurÃcio Marques
Two teams at least have climbed the Rainbow Jambaia route up behind the Falls.
Far easier would be to hike up, rapel down.
more photos of this adventure – flickr – Cathy Beloeil
Cathy did climb nearby Roraima (photos), as well, on that same trip.
Need additional incentive to book a flight to South America? See more wonderful Angel Fall photos on Dark Roasted Blend.
A 32-year-old Perth trekker has died from a suspected heart attack, soon after setting out on the gruelling Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea.
The Kokoda Spirit trekking company says Shane Green died last Sunday, during the steep ascent to the Deniki campsite, several hours south from Kokoda.
It says the young man just keeled over, and trekking masters tried CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
The company says every walker has to have a doctor’s certificate that proves they’re fit to walk. …
This year around five thousand Australians are expected to take on the challenge of the historic 96 kilometre track, where Australian troops resisted invading Japanese forces during World War Two.
History of the Kokoda:
Between 21 July and 14 September 1942, 2,000 Australian troops defended the Kokoda Track leading to Port Moresby against 10,000 elite, battle-toughened Japanese troops. The Australians were ill-equipped, poorly supplied, and facing an enemy determined to brush them aside … These circumstances forced the Australians to stage a fighting withdrawal lasting four weeks across the ridges and valleys of the Kokoda Track …. During those four weeks of bloody fighting on the Kokoda Track the Australians suffered very heavy casualties.
This cross-section map of the Owen Stanley Range may assist viewers to gain an appreciation of the rugged terrain …
… conditions on the Kokoda Track were appalling. The narrow dirt track climbed steep heavily timbered mountains, and then descended into deep valleys choked with dense rain forest. The steep gradients and the thick vegetation made movement difficult, exhausting, and at times dangerous. Razor-sharp kunai grass tore at their clothing and slashed their skin. The average annual rainfall over most of the Kokoda Track is about 5 metres (16 feet), and daily rainfalls of 25 centimetres (10 inches) are not uncommon. When these rains fell, dirt tracks quickly dissolved into calf-deep mud which exhausted the soldiers after they had struggled several hundred metres through it. Sluggish streams in mountain ravines quickly became almost impassable torrents when the rains began to fall. …
Most do only the 4mi return from the trailhead at stunning Ke’e Beach through to Hanakapiai Beach (one drowning / year). This is the glorious, but dangerous, Na Pali coast.
Serious hikers definitely want to overnight on the Kalalau Trail, the best hike in Hawaii. The highlight of my 3wks on Kauai.
I was there 3 days, 2 nights.
You need a camping permit ($10 / night). I picked mine up in person at the DOFAW office in Lihue. They sell maps, as well, but a guidebook map is enough. Far better would be to apply for your permit months in advance as the quota is often sold out.
I hiked all 11mi (17.7km) the first day. That’s the best itinerary — but you should get an early start. There’s a public bus on Kauai, but it does not go all the way to the trailhead. The closest campground is Haena Beach Park about a mile from the start.
Kalalau is surprisingly more difficult than it looks.
I fell once each day. Total, I saw 3 seriously injured hikers. This was in PERFECT weather. It would be very sketchy in wet weather.
The trail is sometimes closed due to rain. But most often storms like this blow in and right over the trail, settling on the high peaks above.
Even in perfect weather, there are a many places where an unexpected stumble could hurtle you to your death.
Some say the cliff trails are eroded to the point where the Kalalau should be closed. I wouldn’t go that far. And I did see maintenance guys working on it while I was there.
It’s dangerous. But not as dangerous as the West Coast Trail in Canada, in comparison.
I thought the views might be wonderful, but similar. All massive green cliffs.
Not at all. It is terrifically varied. Over the 11mi you go from lush rainforest to an almost arid environment.
I set up camp at the very end of the Kalalau. Paradise?
The camping area is over a mile long, the beach huge. It was not particularly crowded when I was there.
Here I had something of an odd experience. Logically I knew, “It doesn’t get any better than this.” Yet I was emotionally unmoved by paradise. (Perhaps being a blogger is making me too analytical on these trips.)
Next day I moved on to investigate side trips including Hanakoa Falls.
Gorgeous.
Just as good, I thought, but further to reach, is Hanakapiai Falls.
There’s too much to highlight in one post. If you’ve been waffling about heading to Hawaii for hiking, I say go for it. Kauai, of course.
I did get back safe-and-sound to my rent-a-car at Haena Beach Park campground.
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I used Kathy Morey’s guidebook, the best overall, Kaua’i Trails.
Great on flora and fauna. Less than perfect when it comes to written descriptions of trails.
Here’s what Kathy’s got to say about this hike:
“The Na Pali Coast’s Kalalau Trail is sometimes touted as one of the world’s most beautiful hikes, but I disagree. Those wishing to see the Na Pali Coast as it’s typically shown in calendars, travelogues, and coffee table books may find that helicopter of boat trips are better at providing the experience and scenery they expect. Being on the Na Pali Coast’s Kalalau Trail is a very different experience, often far from idyllic. It’s the difference between looking at a beauful animal from a distance and being a flea on that animal.
… Camping areas are filthy, overused, crowded, and bug-and-toad infested. …
… once notorious for its resident population of hippies and their ultra-casual, clothing-optional lifestyle. Those days are over. Nudity has always been illegal at all Hawaiian beaches. Expect to find a resident caretaker in the Kalalau area who will keep an eye on visitors and educate them …
… Call me an iconoclast, but I regard backpacking the Kalalau Trail … As a poor use of the limited time most visitors probably have on Kauai. … you’re better off day hiking it.†…
I beg to differ. Everyone I’ve spoken with loved this hike. Many told me it was the greatest hike of their lives.
Certainly in March I saw no mosquitoes, no toads, no bugs. The campsites are littered as is much of Kaua’i, but it in no way ruined the experience for me.
One “hippy” approached me for leftover food. Another I saw fleeing inland. (The police were around organizing the evacuation of a hiker with a sprained ankle.) Since Kathy wrote the book, authorities have cracked down on illegal camping.
I did see both topless and nude women at the beach and in the waterfall — that in no way ruined the experience for me, either.
Had a wild boar checking out my campsite at dusk. I took care of that brute, though.
Chased after him with my camera. (This pig some hunter had left to dry beside the highway.)
Check the annotated photos from my Kalalau hike on flickr.
If you’re wondering if this trail is safe enough for you, read more on these two posts:
Kalalau Trail Conditions – A Kaua’i Blog More Kalalau Questions – A Kaua’i Blog
Often included on lists of “best hikes in the world” — deservedly — is the Kalalau Trail on Kauai. It’s widely considered the best hike in Hawaii.
Many non-hiking tourists get a taste of the Kalalau by doing the challenging first 2mi (3.2km) from the trailhead at Ke’e Beach through to gorgeous Hanakapiai Beach.
Ke’e Beach
Hanakapiai Beach
We took a group of kids. Everyone enjoyed the adventure. All had a great day.
But I was somewhat shocked how unprepared many are on this day hike. This is a very dangerous adventure in many ways.
In fact, on the way out we met one woman with a lower body injury of some kind. The Fire Department was hiking in to evacuate her with this rig:
In other spots on the Kalalau Trail they evacuate by helicopter.
Fantastic hike for everyone, including kids. But please people, be careful on the Na Pali coast.
See the rest of our photos from that day hike on flickr.
details on the side trip to Hanakapi’ai Falls – Trailspotting
more information – Kauai Explorer
Another GREAT Kauai hike with an unappealing name. (Like the Swamp Trail.)
… follows a 13 mile electric transmission line maintenance route and ends near the Keahua Forestry Arboretum in the Lihue-Koloa Forest Reserve. This is a dry-weather, all day hike. …
Steep, eroded, slippery at saddle. …
If you have only one vehicle, do as I did, starting at the south end (Arboretum). Hike to your turnaround time. Then backtrack. (Most of the hiking guidebooks recommend the out and back itinerary, in any case.)
That’s my rent-a-car parked on the DRY side of the river. In Hawaii you don’t want to drive a rental on to a beach or hunting road. Or across any river.
The start of the Powerline Trail is not all that inspiring:
But very soon you — like every hiker before you — will be scanning the interior mountains hoping for a clear glimpse of the highest peaks.
That’s perhaps the most consistently rainy spot on Earth. In 3wks it did not clear once for me. The summit of Mt. WaiÊ»aleÊ»ale gets 460in (11.7m or 12.87yds) of liquid each year.
(Rare clear photo on Waialeale.org.)
Even though you are hiking on a rough “road”, the pristine jungle scenery ensures that every hiker leaves happy. I loved it.
On the drive back to the coast, stop at gorgeous Opaekaa Falls:
There’s actually a scramble to the base of the Falls. I’d had enough already, and simply enjoyed the view from above.
See all my photos from an afternoon trail run on the Powerline Trail.
I like the route Lonely Planet Hiking Hawaii recommends for Alakai Swamp:
Kalalau Lookout trailhead > Phea Lookout > Kilohana Lookout. And back.
That’s maximum bang / mile, I think.
It’s a brilliant hike, too, by the way. Don’t be deterred by the name “Swamp”.
OK, it’s a swamp. But it’s so weird and unexpected after the sunny, hot coastal beaches, that I was instantly won over. Many hikers are. For some it’s their favourite hike on Kauai.
The highlight is not the swamp. Not pounding miles of boardwalk in my running shoes.
Some come specifically to see indigenous Hawaiian flora and fauna.
But for most, the highlight is the drop dead gorgeous 4000ft vista looking over Na Pali (The Cliffs). One of he great lookouts in the world.
see all my photos from this hike on flickr
learn more – Alaka’i Swamp Trail – Trailspotting
A local recommended an excellent, unique — but extreme — hiking adventure:
Get used to the mud. Most of the time, it’s easier just to go right through the middle while looking for submerged rocks and logs. If you do have hiking boots, it’s best to avoid overtopping them.
Maybe too extreme, or too dirty, for me.
What’s reassuring is that the 0.9 mile-long (1.5 km) tunnel is perfectly straight and you can see the light at the other end the whole way. It takes 20-30 minutes to reach that light. When you get there it is like a door onto another world.
details: Kaapoko Tunnel Hike (part 1) – A Kauai Blog
It’s called Secret Tunnel to the North Shore in the The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook
There are actually a second. And a third tunnel. Rarely visited. Difficult to find.
details: Kaapoko Tunnel Hike (part 2)
Thanks to Andy Kass for posting these trip reports.
I think I’ll go lie on the beach instead.
Still dreaming of Kauai.
This trail begins near Wailua’s Keahua Arboretum and travels up to views of Mt.Waialeale (clouds permitting) and the ocean. Picnic at the lookout point or continue on to explore lush hillsides of fern and vegetation.
My latest idea is to rent a mountain bike and ride to many trailheads on the island. In fact you can ride this entire trail by bike.
Stuart at Trail Spotting recommends the Kauai – Alaka’i Swamp Trail 11mi (17.7km). Hard.
… Take a westerly drive around Kauai until you run out of road and you’ll find yourself overlooking the plunging cliffs of Kalalau Valley on the fabled Na Pali Coast.
The only way to explore beyond this point by land is on foot, and the well-maintained Pihea trail leading to the Alaka‘i Swamp trail is an exhilarating way to do so. Hike along cliff edges, through jungle and across misty mountain-top swamps to reach the trail’s end and clifftop views over Wainiha Pali. …
Click through for photos and maps: Trail Spotting
Friends just confirmed today they are spending 2wks on Kauai the end of March.
Of course, that got me thinking. …
This is the guidebook my friends are using. It has a pretty good overview of hikes on the island.
Other resources include this DVD: Hiking Hawaii: Kauai
And these guidebooks:
At first glance, looks to me the best area is Waimea Canyon State Park. Dubbed the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific” by Mark Twain. It’s close, I think, to the famed Na Pali Coast. (Got to kayak there, too.)
Na Pali Coast – Wikipedia – Julius Silver
The most interesting website looks to be Waialeale Basecamp. Their trails page has some extreme off-trail trip reports.
Mike (volcantrek8) from that site has a flickr page dedicated to hiking photos from Kauai. Some samples:
Gazing into Olokele Valley – flickr
Mount Waialeale – flickr
Leave a comment if you have any advice regarding hikes on this beautiful isle. (I’m looking for cheap airfare next.)
besthike.com 