Hawaii – Kauai – Ke’e Beach
From Princeville in the direction of Hanalei, you will pass Ke’e Beach on your way to the Na Pali Coast. This dreamlike stretch of coast is still completely preserved in its originality. No hotel buildings or the like disturb the South Sea idyll here.
Behind Hanalei, the road becomes narrower and more winding. It winds along the foot of the cliffs to the west and you can see the first foothills of the Na Pali cliffs. The vegetation here becomes denser and denser and we pass small, crooked wooden houses that are scattered along the way.
The houses are surrounded by tropical gardens where banana trees grow. On the way on, one white dream beach follows the next. Most of them are deserted.
The beach of Ke ́e Beach is lined with palm trees and the white foam crests that break on the offshore reef give rise to a real South Sea feeling. The shallow water here is ideal for snorkeling.
From here, the remains of old temples in the mountains can be visited on foot. From there you have a wonderful view of the surf-tossed coast. From Ke ́e Beach, the Kalalau Trail leads in steep windings up into the cliffs. In the undergrowth of the bushes grow pandanus trees, kukui trees, ti plants, wild ginger and all kinds of other colorful flowering plants. The path winds uphill and downhill and after about one kilometre you reach the first viewpoint, which offers an indescribable view of the surf below and the thousand-metre-high lava cliffs rising almost vertically into the sky. Truly an impressive experience.
A little further on you come to the Hanakapi’ai Valley. Here, erosion has carved a deep notch into the cliffs. The fine sandy beach invites you to take a break here. You can enjoy refreshment at the small river Hanakapi’ai. Freshwater fish live here, which in the course of evolution are able to climb up the stony waterfalls through suction cups on their fins. You can continue climbing on a narrow path to the Hanakapi’ai waterfalls. The trail is overgrown with dense mango and guava trees. Occasionally you can still see the remains of stone walls, which date back to earlier settlement times. It is 6.5 kilometers round trip to Hankapi’ai Valley. The tour can be done in about 3 hours. The entire trail is about 12 miles long. Depending on which side valleys you take, this can also take several days. Information about the condition of the trail and special features should be obtained from the State Department beforehand.
