When you are searching for things to do on Hawaii’s big island (also named Hawaii) you will often see beach listings, a few museum suggestions, and a recommendation to visit the local farmer’s market. Those are all great ideas and you should do them all. But, how about traveling back in time? If you want to learn about Hawaiian culture and how that culture ties into the stunning landscape that surrounds it, then taking the Waipi’o Valley Shuttle Tour is the perfect activity for you.
You might never have heard traditional Hawaiian music before, but if you stand perfectly quiet in the basin of the sacred Waipi’o Valley, you can conjure it. The wild horses’ hoofs in the dirt match the male musician’s chanting as he keeps time on a hollow gourd. The waterfall tumbling from a cliff that begins near the heavens is the sound of female hula dancers joining in the chant. The leaves of the crowded taro plants rustle in the wind and match the swaying arms of the women as they express sacred stories with their bodies.
What is the Waipi’o Valley?
The valley is lies along the Hamakua Coast in the north of the big island. If you are staying on the east side of the island in Hilo, it will be a one-hour drive to get to the shuttle company. If you are staying on the west side in the Kailua-Kona area where the resorts are, it will be closer to a 90-minute drive. The valley is approximately one-mile wide and 2,000 feet deep and is known as “Valley of the Kings.” The nickname is because this was the ancestral land of Hawaiian royalty and the childhood home of King Kamehameha I, who united all the pacific islands into one nation in the early 1800’s.
The trees are densely packed and red blossoms dot the tops of a few. It is an environment that is so rural and otherworldly that it feels prehistoric. I told my husband that I was waiting for a dinosaur to come lumbering out of the trees at any moment. The valley is formed between two volcanoes. Its difficult-to-access location made it quite safe from attack, and today, it is the only place on the island populated with wild horses.
Waipi’o Valley Shuttle Tour & Farming in the Valley
There are fewer than 100 full-time residents today, and many of them farm taro on ancestral lands. Though some varieties of taro can be grown on dry land, in the valley, they use mud fields.
Our guide, Kaleo, explained that there is 80-feet of water catchment under the soil. This means that you can dig down only 5-feet anywhere and find a freshwater spring.
Those towering mountains of greenery exist for a reason. The big island gets huge amounts of rain each year anyway, but being 2,000 feet down in a valley helps everything stay even wetter. In fact, Kaleo said that in a rainstorm the rivers in the valley rise by one foot per hour and fall at the same pace after the storm.
I should also mention here that there are only a handful of homes with traditional utilities. For electricity, many residents use solar panels or generators. They use rain catchment systems for water (which I’ve seen is a common method of acquiring water all across the island).
Waipi’o Valley Shuttle Tour: Access & Details
As of this writing, a Waipi’o Valley Shuttle Tour adult ticket is $67 and children are $36.50. Ticket purchases are made online. Though not mandatory, it is best to purchase them at least one week in advance. The tour lasts approximately 105 minutes and is narrated the entire time by educated guides. We will be forever grateful to our guide, Kaleo, who was born and raised in the valley for narrating our tour with heart and passion that I believe only a native son of the valley could have provided.
There is only one road down into the valley. It was built in 1961 and is, apparently, the steepest road in the state. In fact, in some sections, the grade reaches 45%. A 4-wheel drive vehicle is mandatory. Due to the geological fragility of the area, and the extreme cultural significance of it to native Hawaiians, it is closed to the public. You can only access it via a tour. This includes attempting to hike in there on foot. I repeat, readers: You can only access the valley by taking a guided tour. Please respect this rule.
The van is equipped with seat belts for the safety-conscious and, though they ask when you purchase tickets, if anyone in your party has back problems, I didn’t find the ride all that rough. There was some bouncing on the way back up the hill out of the valley, but it wasn’t extreme, in my opinion.
During our extraordinary tour experience, Kaleo stopped several times to let our small group of seven people, out of the van to take pictures and get a closer look. The wild horses came right up to us (looking for snacks) and a mongoose or two darted in and out of the underbrush.
Waterfalls Galore
While standing in a riverbed, I could see Hakalaoa Falls in the distance playing hide & seek among the rocks as it traveled down the cliff. It’s a whopping 1,430 feet tall.
If you’re a sucker for a good poetic story like I am, then the twin waterfalls (Hi’ilawe Falls) will probably be your favorite. There is a Romeo & Juliet tale here. As the story goes, there was a chief’s daughter who fell in love with a man from a lower class. There was a strict kapu system (caste system) and, therefore, they could not be together. The legend says that the lovers leapt from a cliff together. From this point there are different versions of the story. One says they became the elements of the valley (wind, mist, water). Another version says that the gods were moved by their devotion to each other and transformed them into the twin waterfalls, so they could flow side by side forever. She is represented by the waterfall on the right and he is the waterfall on the left.
A Final Note
Near the end of our tour, I stood with Kaleo and asked him this question:
“What is one thing about Hawaii that visitors don’t know that you wish they knew?”
He didn’t have to think for long before saying that he wished visitors understood just how important care and respect for the land is to the Hawaiian people. He said it is such an important part of their culture. He explained that if someone doesn’t know, that’s one thing. BUT, if someone tries to teach you and you ignore their guidance, that is something else entirely and there is no faster way to anger or offend a native Hawaiian. Message received, Kaleo.
I am grateful to Patty (my ticket contact), Kaleo, and the entire Waipi’o Valley Shuttle Tour company staff for taking time to show this rare & sacred place to visitors. If your Hawaii vacation includes a stop on the big island, consider making this activity a part of your itinerary. Travel back in time for an afternoon and open your heart to the stories of the valley. Chances are, you’ll never be quite the same afterwards.
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