Hiking the Volcanoes of the Big Island, Hawaii
March 11th, 2008 by Palaka | no responses
Looking for homes and condos in Hawaii? Let us help you find the Aloha Spirit in the beautiful islands of Hawaii. With informative articles and advice about finding your perfect condo or home in Hawaii, including condos in Kona, Maui, Honolulu and much more, you’ll soon find the place you’ve been dreaming of.
Aloha! Condos, Homes and Places to Stay in Hawaii | Your Hawaii Resource and Information Blog
Click stars to vote (left is low, right is high)
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
Loading ...
Hiking the volcanoes of the Big Island is one of the must-do attractions while visiting Hawaii. The hotbed of volcanic activity combined with natural tropical beauty makes Hawaii a most-desirable destination. Kilauea Caldera is the most active volcano in the world, continually producing lava since 1983.
The lava flow is most often a slow trickle or quickly moving stream, and the lava travels down the side of the volcano, cooling along the way or flowing until it hits the cool sea and hardens in a spray of steam and heat. Very rarely does the lava shoot into the air in an impressive display of volcanic eruption. Nonetheless, the chance to see an active lava flow still draws visitors like a magnet.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Hiking the volcanoes of the Big Island most often includes a trip to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The Volcanoes National Park was established in 1916 and it is one of the most popular visitor destinations on the Big Island. Over half of the park’s 230,000 acres is designated as wilderness.
The Park offers massive opportunities to hike and relax in Hawaii’s natural beauty while gaining a spectacular view of Mount Loa at 13,677 feet.
Many different guided tours are also available for visitors. The hiking tours provide a knowledgeable tour guide to keep hikers safe from the unpredictable lava flow and intense heat. Guided tours also seek to educate hikers about Hawaiian history and the local flora and fauna along the way.
Guided Hiking Tours
Volcano hiking tours take visitors past glass smooth cooled lava pools, steaming vents, gigantic craters, and flowing molten-hot lava streams. While hiking the volcanoes of the Big Island, visitors also traverse through lush vegetation cut off by the lava flow, black volcanic beaches, lava tubes, and lushly populated rain forests.
The flow of the lava is unpredictable, and a trained tour guide knows where to spot the volcanic activity while staying safe.
Safety First While Hiking the Volcanoes of the Big Island
If you choose to forgo a guided tour, hiking the volcanoes of the Big Island requires a trip to the National Park Ranger Station for a lesson on volcano safety during your trek. Even at a safe distance, the heat produced from the cooling lava is intense. The cooled lava provides rocky and uneven footing and should be crossed only be experienced hikers to avoid injury.
Hiking the volcanoes of the Big Island is an once-in-a-lifetime experience and should be included in every trip to Hawaii. The Hawaii Volcanoes national Park is a great place to begin any volcano hike and guided tours of the volcanoes are also a very popular activity for first time visitors and returning sightseers.
Share This Post - instructions included
The Author: Palaka
About: Palaka is Hawaiian for Brad. Pelanakelina is Hawaiian for Bradley. Brad is a staff writer for Aloha Condos.
What's your Hawaiian name? It's easy to look up your name in Hawaiian. Simply do a search for Hawaiian names and you should be able to find your name in Hawaiian.
This entry was posted by Palaka, on Tuesday, March 11th, 2008 at 7:37 am and is filed under Featured, Big Island. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response on the right, or trackback from your own site.