カウアイ島の観光スポット

カウアイ島のナ・パリコーストは、美しい海岸、マリーンライフやウォータースポーツで有名です。 24kmの海岸線は、断崖、白い砂浜、ターコイズブルーの海があり、カウアイの代表的な景観が見えます。 エコクルーズで鯨、イルカ、モングアザラシを見学した、セーリングのアドベンチャーに出かけたり。カララウ・トレイルの渓谷の断崖を沿って歩き、ハナカピアイ・ビーチやハナカピアイ・フォールズに行ってみたり。 スノークリングをしながら、熱帯魚やアオウミガメなどの海の生物と出会うこともできます。

Kauai’s Wailua River runs from the volcanic Wailua crater to the coast, flowing through the Wailua River State Park. It’s Hawaii’s only navigable river, so make the most of the experience with a boat tour or cruise into the island’s rugged interior. Along the way, you’ll pass waterfalls, nature reserves and walking trails as the river slowly meanders its way inland. The river’s highlights are Fern Grotto, Wailua Falls and Secret Falls, reached by a secluded walking trail.

One of Kauai’s most beautiful stretches of water, Hanalei Bay is a hub for watersports on the island’s north shore. Flanked by idyllic stretches of beach and backed by mountains, the bayside town of Hanalei is filled with shops renting kayaks, sailing boats, surfboards. Come here to soak up the rays on the beach, dip your toe in the water, take a stroll on the pier or bring a picnic to enjoy on the sand.

Be prepared for more colors of green than you’ve ever seen before in the area surrounding Kauai’s central Mt. Waialeale—it’s one of the wettest places on planet Earth, receiving more than 450 inches of rainfall each year. It’s dominating sheer green 5,066 cliff wall has also been called the Wall of Tears, for the many waterfalls that fill its crevices and stream down its face during frequent rains. And, if the setting looks familiar, that could be because it starred as the backdrop for opening scenes of the original 1992 Jurassic Park movie. To get to the base of Waialeale, and to the the Wailua River, you’ll have to take a 4x4 down the bumpy Wailua Forestry Management Road and then trek in. Alternatively, several helicopter tours take you much closer to its cliff face—and its waterfalls—than you could easily get to on a hike.

Once named the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific” by Mark Twain, Waimea Valley is the gateway to one of Kauai’s most impressive natural sights, Waimea Canyon. At 26 miles across and 21 miles long, Waimea Canyon has crags, gorges, and rugged mountains characterized by a variety of colors. Natural green, red, and even purple and blue hues appear in various degrees along the eroded mountain sides. The canyon was carved thousands of years ago from waters flowing from the top of Mount Waialeale, still today one of the places on Earth with the most rainfall. There are still dozens of hidden waterfalls and pools to explore throughout the valley. Waimea Valley, with all its natural beauty, was considered sacred by the ancient Hawaiians. Archaeological sites and more than 700 years of native Hawaiian history can still be seen, while visitors can also enjoy panoramic views of the valley from one of several lookouts or explore by foot on one of the area’s many hiking trails.

Kaua‘i, is green, and Kaua‘i is wet—but that’s also why it’s so beautiful. Parts of the island receive over 400 inches of rainfall every year, and all that rain means the “Garden Isle” is dripping in dozens of waterfalls. While some of these waterfalls require trekking through mud just to gain a glimpse of their splendor, others ones such as Opaeka‘a Falls only require stepping out of the car. Tumbling just over 150’, Opaeka‘a Falls is a year-round waterfall that is guaranteed to be flowing. The falls usually feature two separate streams that splash their way down the cliff face, but after periods of especially heavy rain, the two falls can merge into a single, explosive cascade. Whatever the size, the best time to visit is usually in the late morning when the falls are bathed in sunlight—and if it happens to be cloudy day, the falls are so close and easily accessible it’s easy to pay another visit.

Kauai is known as “The Garden Isle” for its exceptionally verdant beauty, and when you first catch sight of Wailua Falls it’s easy to understand why. Spilling 80 feet over a rocky ledge into a fresh water pool below, this double-streamed, misty cascade so perfectly captures the tropical essence that it was used as part of the opening scene for the TV show, Fantasy Island. And, while there’s definitely no shortage of waterfalls on Kauai, what makes Wailua Falls so popular is the fact that you can see the falls without even having to hike. As you follow rural, Ma’alu Road as it twists its way up the mountain, there will eventually be a large parking lot approximately four miles up from the highway. Here, from a sweeping viewpoint on a country road looking over Wailua Stream, a heart-stopping view of Wailua Falls is only a few steps away.

Guarding the tip of Kilauea Point since 1913, this historic Kilauea Lighthouse is one of Kauai’s most visited attractions. One of the most intact historic lighthouses in the USA, the lighthouse was decommissioned in 1976 and now forms part of a wildlife refuge for migrating seabirds. Gaze out to sea and imagine the ships that were guided by its light, pick up a souvenir in the gift shop, and learn about the restoration project that’s currently under way.

When the island of Kauai erupted from the sea between 4 and 5 million years ago, parts of the coastline were riddled with tubes where molten lava once flowed. One of those spots is the Spouting Horn on the island’s southern coast, where waves are channeled into the tube before violently erupting in a saltwater geyser over 50 feet in the air. Compared to other Hawaiian blowholes, what makes Kauai’s Spouting Horn unique is the guttural moan that precedes the powerful eruption. A second, smaller hole in the rocks funnels air as opposed to water, and the result is a sound that makes it seem like the rocks themselves are groaning. No wonder Hawaiians believed that a mo’o was stuck inside of the rocks—a mischievous lizard of Polynesian lore that can still be heard to this day. Once finished admiring the geyser and feeling the ocean’s fury, peruse the homemade souvenir stalls erected by local vendors.

Perfect acoustics and gorgeous scenery come together at Fern Grotto, the highlight of a cruise on the Wailua River. A natural amphitheater, the fern-filled grotto provides a unique venue for visitors to hear traditional Hawaiian music in one of the islands’ most beautiful outdoor settings. The beautiful grotto was created by volcanic activity, and is draped in tropical ferns.

Kauai’s capital city is Lihue, though with a population in the low thousands, ‘city’ may be overstating things a little. It is the island’s main shopping destination, however, with a Macy’s and other big-name department stores you’ll recognize. You’ll also find a variety of good restaurants in Lihue. The town’s proximity to the airport makes scenic air tours a major reason to visit.

The Menehune Fishpond is scenic—set amid lush jungle where craggy mountains are close enough to frame the edges of a killer sunset photo shot. But this giant pool of green-brown water has been attributed mythical qualities that are evident even in its name. Menehune is a mysterious race of little people—some say they’re like Hawaiian leprechauns—that have been credited with building sites throughout the Hawaiian Islands swiftly and stealthily. Legend has it they built this particular 39-acre loko wai (freshwater pond) by passing stones to each other from the village of Makaweli more than two dozen miles away, damming up the Hule’ia River with walls 900 feet long and five feet tall. In a single night. To get up close and personal with the work of the Menehune, join a kayak tour of the Hule’ia—it’s the only way to gain access into the otherwise off-limits Hule’ia National Wildlife Refuge that surrounds the pond.

There was once a time when the island of Kauai was awash in waving green sugar. When the last mill closed down, however, in October of 2009, the island was left searching for a new crop to step in and fill the void. Luckily for island plantation workers and caffeine lovers worldwide, coffee is starting to pick up on Kauai where the sugar cane industry left off. Nowhere is this more evident than at Kauai Coffee Company in the town of Kalaheo, where over 4 million trees on 3,100 acres officially make this the largest coffee farm found anywhere in the United States. Take a guided tour through the coffee fields to learn the production process, or sample from over 20 different coffees at the large tasting room on site. Every bean that’s served and sold is grown right here in Hawaii, and when you’ve gotten enough of a buzz for the day, look out at the rows of waving green leaves that disappear over gentle hills to the tropical shoreline below.

The Napali Coast tops nearly everyone’s Kauai bucketlists with its sheer green undulating cliffs dropping directly into cerulean waters. The Kalalau Trail takes you back in and along Napali’s Valleys for 11 miles down to the beach and back up and out for another 11—a trip that takes most people at least two days to complete. Not for everyone. Enter the Kalalau Lookout, an easily accessible vantage from which to take in the deep expanse of Napali’s most recognizable Kalalau Valley and get a taste of Napali from land without all of the hiking. Sitting at an elevation of 4,000 feet, the lookout is perfectly positioned to take in the full two-mile-across valley and the ocean beyond.