Top Kauai Attractions

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Back to KauaiKauai, Hawaii: Top Attractions - What to See & Do

Yes, Kauai has the best beaches in Hawaii, but don't forget the rest of this beautiful island. Get out and explore what makes Kauai the "Garden Isle." Walk back in history in the capital of Lihue. Make time to see Kauai's incredible botanical world of manicured gardens, the geological wonders of Waimea Canyon, the incredible carved cliffs of the Na Pali Coast, and the enchanted rainforests of the wettest place on earth. Book a helicopter flight, take a back-roads tour in a four-wheel-drive vehicle, make a pilgrimage to a Hindu temple located on a sacred Hawaiian site, drop the kids off at a children's museum, or sign up for an expedition to Kauai's famous movie sites. There's a lot more to Kauai than its gorgeous beaches, so get out there and discover why visitors become enchanted with this magical island.

Touring Off the Beaten Path

If you are itching to get off the beaten path and see the "hidden" Kauai, Four-Wheel-Drive Backroad Adventure, 1702 Haleukana St., Lihue, HI 96766 (tel. 800/452-1113 or 808/245-8809; www.alohakauaitours.com), has a full-day, four-wheel-drive tour that starts in Waimea Canyon and goes up to Kokee Park, then on to Koloa and the Kilohana Crater. The tour, done in a four-wheel-drive van, not only stops at Kauai's well-known scenic spots but travels on sugar cane roads (on private property), taking you to places most people who live on Kauai have never seen. The guides are well versed in everything from native plants to Hawaiian history. Bring plenty of film for your camera. The tour costs $125 adults, $90 children 5 to 12.

Discovering the Legendary "Little People"

Like many places in the world, including Ireland with its leprechauns, Hawaii has stories about "little people." According to ancient Hawaiian legend, among Kauai's earliest settlers were the menehune, a race of small people who worked at night to accomplish magnificent feats. However, archaeologists say the menehune may not be legendary people but in fact non-Polynesian people who once lived on Kauai. These people, believed to be from the Marquesas Islands, arrived in Hawaii between 0 and 350 A.D. When the Polynesians ventured from Tahiti to Hawaii between 600 and 1100 A.D., they fought the "menehune" already living in Hawaii. Some scholars claim the Polynesians were more aggressive and warlike than the Marquesans, and in a series of wars the Tahitians drove the Marquesans north through the island chain to Kauai.

Anthropologists point out that the Tahitian word manahune, which means a lower class or a slave, was used to describe the racial hierarchy, not the physical stature of the people already living in Hawaii. In other words, "manahune" (or "menehune") was used to mean small in the Tahitians' strict caste system, not small in size.

In any case, everyone agrees that these people performed incredible feats, especially stonework that has stood for centuries. One example by these rock builders, who were able to construct elaborate edifices without using mortar, is the Menehune Ditch (Kiki a Ola), along the Waimea River. Only a 2-foot-high portion of the wall can be seen today; the rest of the marvelous stonework is buried under the roadbed. To get here from Hwy. 50, go inland on Menehune Road in Waimea; a plaque marks the spot about 1 1/2 miles up.

Another example lies above Nawiliwili Harbor. The Menehune Fishpond??which at one time extended 25 miles??is said to have been built in just 1 night, with two rows of thousands of menehune passing stones hand to hand. The menehune were promised that no one would watch them work, but one person did. When the menehune discovered the spy, they stopped working immediately, leaving two gaps in the wall. From Nawiliwili Harbor, take Hulemalu Road above Huleia Stream. Look for the HAWAII CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU marker at a turnoff in the road, which leads to the legendary fishpond. Kayakers can paddle up Huleia Stream to see it up close.