Hawaii's Big Island: Where Lava Meets the Sea
On the Big Island, Kilauea has been erupting continuously since 1983, and watching molten lava pour into the Pacific Ocean — hissing, steaming, adding new land to the island — is a genuinely primal experience.
The Big Island of Hawaii — officially named Hawaii — is the youngest and largest of the Hawaiian Islands, still being built by the volcanic activity that created the entire archipelago. The island sits above a hotspot in the Pacific Plate, and the magma that rises through this hotspot has been building the island for approximately 700,000 years. The result is a landscape of extraordinary geological diversity: active lava flows on the eastern slopes of Kilauea, snow-capped peaks on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, black sand beaches on the Puna coast, and green sand beaches — coloured by olivine crystals — at Papakolea.
Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes on Earth, has been erupting continuously since 1983 — the longest rift zone eruption in recorded history. The eruptions have added over 500 acres of new land to the island and buried entire communities under lava flows that move slowly but inexorably across the landscape. The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which encompasses both Kilauea and Mauna Loa, offers the most accessible view of active volcanism in the world — the Halema'uma'u Crater, at the summit of Kilauea, contains a lava lake that glows red at night and can be viewed from the crater rim.
The Chain of Craters Road descends 1,200 metres from the summit of Kilauea to the coast, passing through a landscape of hardened lava flows in extraordinary textures — the ropy, smooth pahoehoe and the jagged, clinkery a'a — that record the history of eruptions over the past century. Where the road ends, buried under a 1995 lava flow, a trail continues to the coast, where in active periods lava enters the sea in a spectacular display of steam and hissing. The lava bench that forms at the ocean entry is unstable and can collapse without warning, and the viewing area is carefully managed for safety.
Mauna Kea, at 4,205 metres above sea level, is the highest point in Hawaii and, measured from its base on the ocean floor, the tallest mountain on Earth — taller than Everest by over a kilometre. The summit is above 40 percent of the Earth's atmosphere and is one of the best astronomical observation sites in the world, hosting 13 telescopes operated by institutions from 11 countries. The visitor centre at 2,800 metres offers stargazing programmes on clear nights, and the drive to the summit — on a road that climbs from sea level to 4,000 metres in 45 kilometres — passes through every climate zone from tropical to alpine.
The Waipio Valley, on the northeastern coast of the Big Island, is one of the most dramatic landscapes in Hawaii — a valley one kilometre wide and six kilometres long, enclosed by 600-metre cliffs and accessible only by a road so steep (25 percent gradient) that only four-wheel-drive vehicles are permitted. The valley floor is a patchwork of taro fields, wild horses, and the black sand beach at the mouth of the Waipio River, with waterfalls cascading down the cliffs on both sides. The valley was the home of Hawaiian royalty and the site of important battles in Hawaiian history.
The Kohala Coast on the western side of the island is the driest and sunniest part of the Big Island, with a string of luxury resorts built on the black lava fields above the ocean. The snorkelling and diving in the clear waters of the Kohala Coast is among the finest in Hawaii — the coral reefs are healthy, the visibility is excellent, and the marine life includes manta rays, spinner dolphins, and green sea turtles that haul out on the beaches to bask. The Puukohola Heiau National Historic Site, a massive stone temple built by King Kamehameha I in 1791, is one of the finest examples of Hawaiian religious architecture.
The Big Island is the most geologically diverse of the Hawaiian Islands, and the contrast between its different landscapes — from the snow and ice of Mauna Kea to the tropical rainforest of the Hamakua Coast to the active lava fields of Puna — makes it the most rewarding of the islands for visitors who want to experience the full range of Hawaiian environments. The best time to visit is from April to June and September to November, when the weather is good and the crowds are smaller than in the peak summer and winter holiday seasons. Renting a car is essential — the island is large and the public transport is limited.
