G - Alahaka Heiau & Keanaeʻe Cliffs

Imagine this impressive heiau structure with the natural amphitheater of the volcanic cliffs behind.

NPS

Quick Facts

Location:

Ala Kahakai NHT

Significance:

Heiau

Amenities

2 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Scenic View/Photo Spot

This pile of stone rubble is all that remains of the Alahaka heiau (temple). In it’s prime, the Alahaka heiau may have resembled the large ʻĀleʻaleʻa heiau found in the Puʻuhonua. Take a moment to imagine what this impressive structure must have looked like with the natural amphitheater of Keanaeʻe cliffs wrapping around behind.

The original purpose of this heiau may have been lost to history, however cultural practitioners and descendants of the area believe it may have been used to make celestial observations or that it could be connected to fishing practices in the area.

750 to 1500 years ago, lava from Mauna Loa flowed across this landscape forming the features you see around you. In his book, Letters from Hawaii, Mark Twain described what he believed was the tumultuous history of these cliffs:

“An old volcanic eruption sent its broad river of fire down the mountainside here, and it poured down in a great torrent from an overhanging bluff some fifty feet high to the ground below. The flaming torrent cooled in the winds from the sea and remains there today, all seamed and frothed and rippled – a petrified Niagara.”