Waimea Valley and Waimea Falls
Lots of people visit Oahu’s legendary North Shore to surf, but there’s more to Hawaii than its great beaches. The North Shore also has amazing sites like Waimea Valley and Waimea Falls. During a visit to Hawaii earlier this month, Dave and I walked along the trails to the waterfall and swimming hole at the end of this beautiful valley.
Waimea Valley includes 41 garden zones with over 5000 types of tropical plants from around the world. It preserves many endangered native Hawaiian plants and animals, and has Hawaiian cultural and archeological sites, too. Some of Waimea Valley’s stone terraces and walls date back centuries. We did see lots of orchid plants throughout the gardens, but we didn’t find any in bloom in early March.
The lush scenery includes plants from Central and South America, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Guam, Fiji, and many other Pacific islands. It’s an easy 3/4 mile (1.2 km) walk along the main trail to the waterfall, but there are also side trails leading into other parts of the gardens. Waimea Valley is open daily, except for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day, and offers guided hikes and cultural activities.
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April 1st, 2013 at 12:43 pm
Nice post. I like the waterfalls and the yellow hibiscis best.