Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Site - Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)

QUICKLINKS:

Experience the History of Hawai'i

How many places in America can you walk in the footsteps of a king? Where else has a simple sailor been stranded on an island, only to rise up to become a great chief and change the course of a people's history? Where else can you experience the culminating event of a people, foretold from centuries past? Only here at Pu'ukohola Heiau...

		Pu'ukohola Heiau Pu'ukohola Heiau, one of the last major temples built in the Hawaiian Islands, was constructed by Kamehameha the Great from 1790 to 1791. Arguably one of the greatest leaders in Hawaiian History, Kamehameha became the first person to unite the warring islands into the Kingdom of Hawai'i. Pu’ukohola Heiau played a crucial role in the unification of the Hawaiian Islands, for Kamehameha built the temple as a result of a prophecy that came through a priest named Kapoukahi. This kahuna, or priest, told Kamehameha that if he were to build a heiau on the hill known as Pu'ukohola, and dedicate it to his family’s war god Kuka'ilimoku, he would be able to conquer all of the islands. more...

Traditions Come Alive

Each August Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Site hosts the Ho'oku'ikahi Establishment Day Hawaiian Cultural Festival where visitors experience native customs and traditions. Demonstrations and cultural workshops allow visitors to learn about Hawaiian crafts, dance, music and games.

The 38th Annual Ho'oku'ikahi Establishment Day Hawaiian Cultural Festival will be held on August 14-15, 2010.

		John "Olohana" Young John Young, the stranded British sailor who became advisor to King Kamehameha, also handled the king’s business affairs with foreign traders. As a trusted advisor held in high esteem, the king granted him land at Kawaihae, adjoining Pu'ukohola, for a home. John Young’s homestead contained three Western style stone buildings and a number of traditional Hawaiian structures, some closed and others open on the sides. more...

		Legacy of a Queen Queen Emma was born at Pelekane in what is now Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Site. She was the granddaughter of John Young, the advisor of Kamehameha I, who lived out his many years above Pelekane. In the 1960s, the Queen Emma Foundation and the Queen’s Medical Center, civic clubs and community groups were instrumental in getting Pu'ukohola Heiau designated as a National Historic Landmark. Through an act of Congress on August 17, 1972, the lands surrounding Pu'ukohola Heiau, including the John Young homestead, became Pu’ukohola Heiau National Historic Site. more...

Write to

Superintendent
62-3601 Kawaihae Road
Kawaihae, HI 96743

E-mail Us

Phone

Visitor Center
(808) 882-7218 ext. 1011

Fax

(808) 882-4610

Climate

Kawaihae is considered the driest place in Hawai'i, recieving 9 inches of rain or less annually. Daytime temperatures range from 70 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter to the lower 90's in the summer. Nighttime temperatures range from the upper 50's in the winter to the upper 70's in the summer. Most days are sunny, though winter can bring occassional heavy rain and high winds.