How many places in America can you walk in the footsteps of a king? Where else has a stranded sailor risen up to become a great chief over an entire island? Where else can you experience the culminating event of a people, foretold from centuries past? Where else can you stand on a beach and watch as sharks pass over a submerged temple? Experience all this and much more – only at Pu'ukoholā Heiau!

Puʻukoholā Heiau is a historic Hawaiian temple built in 1790-91. This painting by Herb Kane depics the temple as it would have been seen hundreds of years ago.

Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site

Pu'u Kohola Heiau National Historic Site

The heiau is the site of a traditional Hawaiian ceremony (Hoʻokuʻikahi) every August.

The heiau stands today atop Puʻukoholā (the hill of the whale) overlooking Pelekane Bay.

Visitors can experience Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site by walking a 1/2-mile loop trail.

Along the trail, you'll also find Mailekini Heiau (which was already hundreds of years old when Puʻukoholā Heiau was built), as well as the site of a heiau which was once built underwater.

Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site

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