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Big Island

Measured from its base on the seafloor, Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain on Earth.

HawaiiCapital: Hilo

AdventureEco ConsciousOff The Beaten PathFamily Friendly

Mauna Kea reaches 4,207 metres above sea level, but the mountain starts about six kilometres below the surface — some 10,200 metres base to summit, more than Everest measured the same way. The dry, still air at the top is why a dozen international observatories share the summit, and why the road up ends in gravel and altitude warnings.

The island is also the youngest in the chain and still being built. Kīlauea is one of the most active volcanoes on the planet; its 2018 eruption in lower Puna destroyed more than 700 homes and added new land at the coast. Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park covers both Kīlauea and Mauna Loa, and what is open changes with the eruption.

Quick facts

Currency

USD

USD accepted

Language

English

Power

—

Driving

Right

US-style

Airport

KOA

ITO

Emergency

—

Police · Fire

When to go

Monthly breakdown

Storm risk: Low

Jan

Rain

Feb

Rain

Mar

Rain

Apr

Best

May

Best

Jun

Best

Jul

Best

Aug

Best

Sep

Best

Oct

Best

Nov

Rain

Dec

Rain

Best monthsRainy season

Major events

Apr

Merrie Monarch Festival

A week in Hilo built around the most serious hula competition in the world, named for King Kalakaua who revived the dance. Tickets are allocated by mailed request and sell out immediately.

Cultural

Oct

Ironman World Championship

The race that started the distance, run on the Kona coast since 1981 across lava fields where the radiant heat is the defining difficulty.

Sporting

Nov

Kona Coffee Cultural Festival

Ten days across the Kona belt at harvest time, with farm tours, cupping competitions and a coffee picking contest.

Food

Hidden gems

Beach

Papakolea

One of a handful of green sand beaches in the world, its olivine weathered out of a cinder cone; a 5-kilometre walk each way from the car park.

Viewpoint

Pololu Valley

The end of the northern road, with a steep switchback down to a black sand beach and the valleys beyond it uninhabited.

Nature

Kealakekua Bay

A marine reserve where Captain Cook was killed in 1779, marked by a monument on land Britain still nominally owns.

Local food

Loco moco

Rice, a hamburger patty, brown gravy and a fried egg. Invented in Hilo in 1949 for teenagers who wanted something cheap and fast.

Kona coffee

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Grown on the Hualalai and Mauna Loa slopes, where afternoon cloud shades the trees; only beans from that strip may use the name.

Poi

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Taro corm steamed and pounded with water; graded by how many fingers it takes to scoop, from one-finger thick to three-finger thin.

Safety tips

Health

Vog, the volcanic haze from Kilauea, drifts down the Kona side and affects asthma and heart conditions. Air quality readings are published daily and vary a lot with the trade winds.

Nature

Mauna Kea's summit is at 4,207 metres, reached by a steep unpaved section that most rental contracts exclude. Divers should not go up within 24 hours of a dive.

Water-Safety

Much of the coastline is young lava rock with no beach and heavy surge. Entry and exit points that look fine between sets can become impossible when a bigger one arrives.