Waipi'o Valley the Valley of Kings

Overlooking Waipi'o Valley

Visiting Waipi'o Valley on the Big Island of Hawaii has been on my bucket list since 2006. We were on a seven-month assignment on Maui then and had hopped over to Hilo for a weekend visit. We planned to hike the volcano, see waterfalls, and drive down into Waipi'o Valley.  I had done all the research, rented the jeep, and was raring to go, but then we simply ran out of time. I failed to plan for the driving time, not realizing how much larger the Big Island was than the other islands. Plan accordingly; from Hilo, it is an hour and fifteen-minute drive, and from Kailua-Kona, you are an hour and a half away. That's no stopping to take pictures or sightseeing but straight drive time. 

Fast-forward 11 years to 2017. When I received the news of the Big Island assignment, my first thought was, "I finally get to see Waipi'o Valley!"  

Looking down over the Waipi'o Valley taro farms.

​​Waipi'o Valley is located on the North Shore of the Big Island.  It is named after the river that runs through the valley. Waipi'o means “curved water” in the Hawaiian language. This valley is the largest and most southern of the seven valleys on the windward side of the Kohala Mountains. It is a mile wide at the coastline, almost six miles deep, and has a beautiful black sand beach. The cliffs reach nearly 2000 feet on both sides of the valley!

Waipi'o Valley Road is the steepest road of its length in the world, making the valley very difficult to access. The one-lane road leads down into the valley from a lookout point located on the top of the southern valley wall. This road gains 800 vertical feet in a half mile at a 25% average grade, but several sections have grades up to 45%. This is a paved public road, but it is open to four-wheel-drive vehicles only. 

If you decide to drive down yourself, be aware of one fundamental rule:  Downward vehicles give way to any vehicles coming up. 

Waipi'o Valley Road view.

Seeing is believing...
I shot the image above from the opposite side of the valley. That diagonal curvy line between the trees is Waipio Valley Road. 

Even if you have a four-wheel drive, I would not recommend visiting the valley on your own. The public road ends at the first stream; once you cross that, you are trespassing on private land. The tour companies have all received special permission from the landowners to access this property.
 
I recommend taking one of the local tours. We chose ​Waipio Valley Shuttle, which offers a four-wheel-drive tour in a windowless van. 

Waipi'o Valley Road Rules

Bounded by 2,000-foot cliffs, the "Valley of the Kings" was once a favorite retreat of Hawaiian royalty. From the 13th through the 17th century, Waipi'o Valley was the center of Hawaiian life and densely populated, with between 4,000 and 20,000 people making their home here. That all changed around the time of King Umi in the 1600s.

Today, there are 47 homes in the valley, but only 6 have electricity. The area is so remote that most landowners do not live here year-round. ​ You will only find one road sign—the one that marks the end of the public road. All others look for ​the speed limit sign above. 

Twin Waterfalls

Twin waterfalls flowing from Lalakea Stream tumble down an immense jungle wall into the deep Waipi'o Valley. The waterfall on the right side is Hi’ilawe Falls. This is the most famous waterfall in Waipi'o Valley. No one knows the exact height of this waterfall, but it is somewhere between 1200 and 1600 feet tall, making it the tallest waterfall in Hawaii. Sharing the same cliff wall with Hi’ilawe, the waterfall on the left is Hakalaoa. Hakalaoa is often dry and only flows with strength after periods of rain. 

Waipi'o Valley Traffic Jam

​Traffic backs up on Main Street in Waipi'o Valley when everyone slows down to cross Hiilawe Stream. 

Crossing Hiilawe Stream

Once the public road ends, one must drive through the Hiilawe Stream on the way to Hale O Kalo Taro Farm.  

The Monkey Pod Tree

​​A lone Monkeypod tree stands sentinel over the taro fields near the steep Waipi'o Valley walls.

Waipi'o Valley Taro Farm

Hale O Kalo, which translates to the House of Taro, is a beautiful taro farm on the Big Island of Hawaii surrounded by the towering Waipi'o Valley cliff walls. 

Crossing Wailoa Stream

It was slow going across the stream in the 4 wheel drive van. I was so happy when the driver paused right in the middle of the crossing so I could capture this image of all the beautiful rainforest vines upriver.  

Magical Waipi'o Valley

After a short hike through the rainforest, we saw the late afternoon sunbeams filter through the sea-spray-weathered trees right along the edge of Waipi'o Beach. It was absolutely magical!

We lucked into this beach hike because the shuttle was allowed to fill the remaining seats of a "private tour" with a large group. I was told that the Waipi'o Valley Shuttle does not usually travel to the beach. Please ask about your options if ​this is a spot you want to see.  

Waipi'o Beach Panorama

​The golden glow of the late afternoon sun reflects on the voggy haze (volcano haze) in the atmosphere, giving Waipi'o Beach an almost otherworldly glow. Look closely, there is a waterfall off the cliffs into the ocean.  

Rugged Waipio Beach

​Looking down the rugged Waipi'o Valley coastline from the Waipi'o Black Sand Beach.

​This is not a swimming beach. Only enter the water on the calmest of days.

Aloha Waipi'o Valley

This is the last image I captured in Waipi'o Valley. We had just completed our hike down to the beach and were standing beside the Hiilawe Stream, waiting to climb into the 4WD. When I looked behind me, I noticed the sky was just starting to color up and the sun’s rays faintly outlining the mountains in the distance.
​
This image gives you a good feel for the location and how rustic Waipio Valley is. This is the public/government-maintained Waipi'o Valley Road, and this section of the road was the best stretch in the valley. From here, we started the climb back up to the top.

Nowhere But UP

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​The slow ascent up Waipi'o Valley Road to the Waipi'o Valley Lookout.  One small slip, and it's straight down for us. One of the curves was so tight that the van made half the curve and then backed up against the valley wall just to get enough space to complete it. 

Sunset Over Waipio Valley

After our Waipi'o Valley tour, we returned to the Waipi'o Valley Overlook for sunset. It had been a voggy/hazy day, and I've always heard that vog (volcano smog) makes for colorful sunsets. This sunset sure didn’t disappoint. Even though the sun was setting behind the Kohala mountain range, it threw amazing colors high up into the sky. It was a perfect ending to a wonderful day!​

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Visit the  Hawaii Collection for more images from the Hawaiian islands and Waipi'o Valley.

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 About the Photographer

Susan Rissi Tregoning is the 8th photographer in the past 4 generations of professional photographers in her family. After a long career as an art buyer and interior designer, she put her career on hold in 2006 to travel with her husband and his job. In the process she found her “roots” again, by developing a photography obsession far beyond casual snapshots that eventually evolved into a desire to capture each and every location and object as “art”. By meshing her two loves, photography and design, she has come full circle. Only now, she is creating art instead of just purchasing it. 

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See an image you like? You can purchase Susan's work in the Gallery.  
All images in her collection are available as wall art, fine art prints, home decor, gift items,​ and apparel.

"Crossing Hiilawe Stream" Metal Art

Bring your artwork to life with the stylish lines and added depth of a metal print. Your image gets printed directly onto a sheet of 1/16" thick aluminum. The aluminum sheet is offset from the wall by a 3/4" thick wooden frame which is attached to the back. The high gloss of the aluminum sheet complements the rich colors of any image to produce stunning results.

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