Nāpali Coast, Kaua’i – Pristine and hauntingly beautiful, the Nāpali Coast is a 16-mile-long stretch of soaring green-clad cliffs, white-sand beaches, turquoise coves and gushing waterfalls. Each of the five major valleys – Kalalau, Honopu, Awa‘awapuhi, Nu‘alolo and Miloli‘i – is more stunning than the last. While no road winds through this lush wilderness, the legendary Kalalau Trail covers the first 11 miles, which the fittest of trekkers hike to reach the Kalalau Valley. Alternative (shorter) routes lead to wild beaches and majestic waterfalls, with glorious vistas all around. If a strenuous hike doesn’t appeal, you can opt to see the coastline from the water.
I decided to try both. And so I give you the Nāpali Coast, two ways…
Nāpali Coast On Foot
Someday, I hope to hike the 11-mile Kalalau Trail in its entirety (which is 22 miles round trip btw). However, it requires overnight camping on the beach. It sounds dreamy! But I don’t have camping gear and I don’t really have the time and I don’t have a strong desire to do it by myself. So… not this time.
On our last trip, we hiked the first two miles of the Kalalau Trail to Hanakāpīʻai Beach. This time, I hoped to add on the extension to Hanakāpīʻai Falls. Alas, that plan changed when I slipped on wet rocks and pulled a muscle in my quad, which slowed my pace significantly. So I ended up doing a repeat of the beach hike.
It was hard to feel too disappointed. The beach hike is obviously much shorter, but still strenuous. And it is truly spectacular. These first two miles contain some of Kaua’i’s most iconic views – the stuff of picture postcards and travel guidebooks (ahem). The rusty red trail stretches out ahead, traversing emerald-clad cliffs that drop into aquamarine waters. Dense, chaotic, verdant life crowds out the hillsides on either side of the trail. Overhead, overcast skies tease with rain, until a rainbow bursts through the clouds. It was such a fantastic day, one that left me filled with wonder and gratitude for our gorgeous Mother Earth.
It also left me with an injury, but whatever. Life is trade-offs.
Wildlife report: One monk seal napping on the beach. He was gigantic. Apparently, they just go to sleep in the middle of the beach and they look like they are dead. The park rangers put little signs around them telling people to leave them alone. (No wonder they are endangered.)
Nāpali Coast By Boat
Several days later, for the sake of comparison, I hopped on one of Captain Andy‘s 24-foot Zodiac rafts to see the Nāpali Coast from the water. There are also bigger, more comfortable catamarans that do this trip, but I opted for thrill over chill.
And thrilling, it was. We were whizzing through the surf bopping all over the place. (Fortunately I had taken my Dramamine.) Plus, the Zodiac is small enough to go inside the sea caves and underneath waterfalls. We cruised all along the coastline for a few hours, exploring all the nooks and crannies, admiring the scenery, and stopping for lunch on a deserted beach, among the ruins of an ancient Hawaiian temple.
It was awesome, adrenaline-rushing fun. It also left me feeling a little sad that the twin-agers were not here to share the experience. Add it to the list of things we have to come back to do!
Wildlife report: There were Hawaiian green sea turtles resting on the beach. We also saw a few whales spouting in the distance. But the highlight was when we stopped in the middle of a pod of spinner dolphins. There must have been hundreds of them. It was incredible.