Pihea Trail and Lookouts

The upper part of the road through Kōkeʻe State Park is one of the most impressive mountain stretches on the entire island of Kauai. Once the road leaves the dry, red-colored walls of Waimea Canyon, the landscape begins to change. The vegetation thickens, the air is cooler and more humid, and instead of open views into the depths of the canyon, you find yourself on a high plateau where the weather changes literally by the minute. Before you reach the first lookout, you will pass a small military base

The first of the two lookouts is Kalala Lookout – from here you can see the entire Kalalau Valley, one of the most isolated places in Hawaii. That is, if you are lucky or have the stamina -k Every change in weather means a different scenery – sometimes the bright sun, other times a misty spectacle, when the mountain peaks emerge from the clouds.

The second viewpoint at the very end of the road is Pu'u o Kila Lookout. If you're lucky you can see right down to the sea 1250 meters below. From there the walk itself begins, which I can only recommend.

Pihea Trail – a trail that follows the ridge inland of the Alakaʻi Plateau. The first few meters indicate that you are entering another world. The trees are lower, twisted by the wind and frequent rain, the ground is slippery, and the roots create natural steps. On clear days, the ridge offers some of the most beautiful views of the Nā Pali Coast, while on cloudy days the landscape has an almost mystical atmosphere.

From the road, you can see the nearly impenetrable Alakaʻi Plateau that occupies the center of Kauai. It is one of the wettest places on Earth. The area around the Alakaʻi Plateau and especially the marshy parts of the Alakaʻi Swamp receive an average of approximately 9,000–11,000 mm of precipitation per year, while some locations in the surrounding mountains can receive even more. The main reason is Kauai's position relative to the trade winds — moist ocean air is pushed against the high massif of the island, where it quickly cools and condenses. The result is almost permanent cloud cover, fog, and frequent rain. So we were really lucky with the sunny weather.

The path is beautiful in itself – beautiful vegetation, orange rocks. The atmosphere here was similar to the one I had on the Roraima table mountain years ago.

On the way we also met this pheasant – Erckel's francolin, which is not native to Hawaii. Fortunately, it does not cause much ecological damage, unlike feral pigs.

The path leads along the ridge for a long time so the views are nice.

Finally we were lucky and the view opened up to the ocean. Those who have more time can continue along the trail to the Alaki Swamp trail to the amazing Kilohana Lookout.