Location: Manoa Falls Trail, Manoa Valley, Honolulu, Oahu
Oahu is filled with breathtaking scenery and there’s no better place to enjoy it than on a hike through its picturesque landscapes. The Manoa Falls Trail offers everything you could want: a lush rainforest, 100ft waterfall, bamboo grove and species only found here!
Located just outside of Honolulu, it’s easily accessible by city bus. Unfortunately, that city bus only runs once an hour, and in true Julie fashion, I missed it! An hour later, I was indeed on my way.
Turns out, that was a good albeit inadvertent move: it was pouring rain for the entire hour before I arrived at the start of the trail as evidenced by all the hikers coming back in their sodden ponchos and cleared up as soon as I started up the trail! Serendipity!
A banyan tree creates a beautiful entranceway to the trail. The trees in Hawai’i are really outstanding!
As soon as I started the gentle upward climb, I was greeted by sights that were truly out of this world! I can honestly say, I have never seen landscapes like this before. It’s no wonder that the producers of Jurassic Park, Jurassic World & Lost filmed scenes along this trail.
The hike is 2.6 km there & back, and could be considered more of a walking trail then a hiking trail… but it still counts!
The only downside: because the trial is located in a rainforest microclimate and although I had avoided the downpour, the trail was muddy. Really muddy. And slippery. But trust me, it was worth getting dirty shoes and legs for!
Seriously, I accepted to see Velociraptors around every corner. I would have settled for a face to face encounter with Chris Pratt though.
A bamboo grove in the middle of the trail. During a lull in the throng of hikers going up and down the trail, I managed to find myself alone within the grove listening to the bamboo’s beautiful music as a gentle breeze passed through. Have you ever heard bamboo rustling in the wind? It’s indescribably beautiful and calming; it’s no wonder that Buddha used to meditate in bamboo groves!
I’m convinced that this is one of the locations used in the Jurassic Park movies… don’t you think? I think if you squint just right, you can see a brontosaurus grazing in the distance…
The prize at the end of the journey: Manoa Falls, the tallest accessible waterfalls on Oahu.
Truly amazing – thanks for letting us live vicariously through you.
K