Hawaii Big Island - Hiking to the Akaka Falls near Hilo

We were in Hilo, Hawaii, and the rain was pouring down when we got up. It was just another day in Hilo, where it rains a lot, in fact, quite a lot, all of 140 inches a year. The place is wonderfully green.

We had plans to go to Akaka Falls State Park near Hilo, before we drive off to the Volcanoes National Park to the south of Big Island. R was feeling a bit under the weather, and decided that he is going to just sleep at the back of the car all the way. He was conserving his energy for seeing the volcanoes.





From highway 19, also called the Hawaii Belt Road, we took the left turn to Highway 220 about 8 miles north of Hilo. The road passes through a wonderful little town called Homomu, which looks every inch like a old western town. Do check out Ed's Bakery there. It has some mean 'Molten Lava' passion-fruit (Lilikoi, in Hawaiian) jam that you must taste. Its great stuff!





The road to Akaka Falls goes through some old sugarcane plantations, in fact the only sugarcane plantations we saw in Big Island.

Akaka falls itself is in a majestic setting. It is a straight 442 feet drop, and is surrounded by a lush green rainforest. Its obvious that it rains a lot in that area, since even the rocks around the waterfall looked green! The rainforest had some exotic Hawaiian plants.





Its a very short hike to the viewing area, roughly at the same level as the top of waterfall, but across from it. You get a great view of the gorge into which the falls plunge, completely unobstructed. In Hawaiian, Akaka means a split, in this case a split in earth. Its obvious why its called so when you see the falls.





On the way out, looking back from the top of the stairs, I saw a bunch of tourists crossing a bridge. Didn't realize that there were these many tourists there. Akaka does get a lot of tourists, being close to Hilo, and being very accessible. Its also a very minimal hike to the falls and back, so its just the right kind of touristic place that you will possibly find captured in many digital cameras.

Overall, Akaka Falls is a must see, since it gives a good idea about Hawaii rainforests, even if from a safe distance. For the more adventurous, I assume there are better hiking opportunities around the falls, though I could not find any signs of that in the Akaka Falls state park. I am sure intrepid hikers can find ways to get up close and personal with Akaka falls following some hidden trail, but that will have to wait for a later time!