There are some portions of the road that have a grade of 45%
Waipi’o Valley is one of the most challenging places to visit on the big island of Hawai’i. There is an access road on the south entrance to the valley that has a 25% average grade. There are some portions of the road that have a grade of 45%. This makes it the steepest road in the world! The road is a public road, but it is only accessible by Big Island residents, tour operators, and those practicing their native Hawaiian traditional or customary rights.
There is a good amount of history to Waipi’o Valley. It was the capital for many early Hawaiian ali’i, or chiefs. It served as the capital for many of them. One of the last ali’i that maintained Waipi’o Valley as the capital was King ‘Uia-a-Līloa, who ruled during the fifteenth century. The area was known for its nīoi trees.
It is believed that the valley had 10,000 permanent residents at one point in time. The people grew taro in fields as a source of sustenance. The king of Maui in the 18th century, Kahekili II, raided Waipi’o Valley. It is said that he burned the nīoi trees and the royal grass palace.
The name Waipi’o Valley comes from wai and pi’o, which together mean “curved water” in Hawaiian. The valley is about one mile wide and six miles deep. The valley has many fingers as you travel inland, with each one having a waterfall. One of the most popular waterfalls is the Hi’ilawe Falls. This is one of the largest waterfalls on the big island of Hawai’i. If you aren’t able to make it down into the valley, you can still see Kaluahine Falls. This waterfall flows directly into the ocean when there is heavy rain. If you look closely in this photo, you can see the waterfall just to the north of the beach.
You can still see Kaluahine Falls
Did you know?
- The way that sea urchins eat is a spectacular feat of nature. Their mouths include five calcium carbonate teeth. They also have a fleshy tongue-like structure inside their mouths. The chewing organ is known as Aristotle’s lantern, which comes from Aristotle’s description in the “History of Animals”. The structure of the mouth and teeth are so efficient that people have explored using the same design for mechanical applications
- The shell of a sea urchin is called a test.
- Most sea urchins have five pairs of gills around their mouths.
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