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Park facilities include a visitor center, parking lot, headquarters building, and a picnic area. The park is open 6:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. 6:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. on Monday through Thursday. The Visitor Center is open 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. daily. In 1959 the federal government obtained 165 acres, including the ancient refuge, for the establishment of a national park. There were 664,661 visitors in 2004.

The present park includes the coastal portions of three ancient land divisions: Honaunau, Keokea, and Ki’ilae. It lies about midway between the larger towns of Kailua to the north and Miloli’i to the south. Located next to the ocean, the park is reached via a secondary road off the Mamalahoa Highway. It consists here of a large flat tongue of pahoehoe lava flanked by three bays, Honaunau to the north and Alahaka and Ki’ilae to the south. In the vicinity of Honaunau Bay, the park includes the refuge itself, nearby palace grounds, royal fishponds, a royal canoe landing area, stone house platforms, and temple structures. The boundaries of the refuge are formed by a wall starting at Honaunau Bay and extending in a southwesterly direction for more than 600 feet, at which point a leg turns to the west and runs again southwesterly about 400 feet toward the sea.

Here, as elsewhere along the Kona Coast, lava flows (these from Mauna Loa) are the dominating coastline feature. The refuge is situated on a tongue or small peninsula of black pahoehoe lava jutting into the ocean and forming the southwest wall of Honaunau (Ke Awa) Bay. Within the curve of the bay nestles the small village of Honaunau, once the home of chiefly retainers and commoners, now supporting only a small number of houses. From here one can see what is perhaps the most spectacular natural feature of the park — the Keanae’e pali (cliff), a fault scarp paralleling the shore about one-tenth of a mile inland. The imposing appearance of the cliff, which is arc shaped, more than 100 feet high, and 1,000 feet long, is due to the metallic-hued ancient lava flows frozen in time as they cascaded over the cliff edge toward the sea, creating “festoon lava.” The early inhabitants used the numerous cave openings and lava tubes in the cliff face as residences, burial chambers, and possibly for refuge from the elements.

North about four miles on the Kona Coast is Kealakekua Bay, the scene of the second significant contact between native Hawaiians and Europeans. It was there, at the site of the early Hawaiian villages of Napo’opo’o and Ka’awaloa, that Captain Cook’s ships, the Resolution and Discovery, dropped anchor after discovering Kauai in 1778. There Cook was worshipped as the physical manifestation of the god Lono in the temple of Hikiau. And there he eventually lost his life during a sudden battle with the natives at the water’s edge near Ka’awaloa. A monument on the north side of the bay marks his death site. Hikiau Heiau, restored in 1917, stands on the east side of the bay.

The area between Kealakekua and Honaunau bays is renowned as the Moku’ohai battleground, site of the 1782 conflict between the forces of Kamehameha and those of Kiwala’o for dominance over the island after the death of Kalani’opu’u, king of Hawaii at the time of European contact. Kamehameha’s troops succeeded in killing Kiwala’o and routing his warriors, although the latter’s half-brother Keoua escaped to carry on the battle until his own death at the hands of Kamehameha’s followers at Pu’ukohola Heiau.

Immediately south of the refuge, in Keokea, a satellite village of scattered residential sites, including that of King Keawe, hugged the coast in ancient times. Inland remains of this settlement consist of two heiau, a holua, and the burial cliffs mentioned earlier. A little farther south, within the present southern boundary of the park, is a portion of Ki’ilae Village, occupied from prehistoric times until 1926. There residences arose around a well, called Wai-ku’i-o-Kekela, named for Kekela, a resident of the area, daughter of John Young and mother of Queen Emma. Nearby are lava tube refuge caves useful in time of war.

Today the refuge and associated residential and temple sites, walls, trails, and village remains are in ruins. Non-native shrubs and trees, vines, and a dense undergrowth of grass form a thick cover over the pahoehoe lava flow, which is periodically exterminated in an attempt to restore the landscape of the eighteenth century and expose significant archaeological features.

Early in the area’s prehistory, a ruling chief declared the tongue of black lava flow extending out into the ocean southwest of the bay a sanctuary protected by the gods. There kapu breakers, defeated warriors, and criminals could find safety when their lives were threatened if they could reach the enclosure before their pursuers caught them. A massive stone wall around the sanctuary marked the boundary, while a heiau within the walls afforded spiritual protection. Later a temple was built at the north end of the wall to hold the sacred bones of the ruling dynasty, who would act as perennial guardians of the pu ‘uhonua.

The refuge site today consists of an area partially surrounded by a thousand-foot-long wall of pahoehoe lava about seventeen feet thick and ten feet high. The north side of the structure is open to the bay and the west side to the sea. Within or next to the enclosure were several significant structures, including the Hale-o-Keawe, the ‘Ale’ale’a Heiau, the “Old Heiau,” and the Hale-o-Papa (Women’s Heiau). Other notable features include a konane stone (papamu), a fisherman’s shrine, and two large stones, one reportedly serving as a hiding place for Queen Ka’ahumanu during a quarrel with her husband King Kamehameha and the other used by Chief Keoua. A small enclosure east of Hale-o-Keawe contains two fishponds used by Hawaiian royalty. The Hale-o-Keawe housed the bones of the paramount chiefs descended from ‘Umi and Liloa, some placed in wicker caskets woven in anthropomorphic shapes. This sepulcher of the very high ali’i lent Honaunau its great sanctity. The entire area surrounding the complex was densely settled in aboriginal times and is now replete with significant archeological remains.

It is clear that a well-organized society once flourished in this area. Archeological features here illustrate all aspects of ancient society relating to the religious, economic, social, and political life of early Hawaiians. This way of life began disappearing with Cook’s arrival in 1778 and underwent more deterioration when Liholiho abolished the kapu system in 1819.

The sheltered, temperate Kona Coast of Hawaii became an ideal settlement area for the early Polynesian peoples who migrated to the Hawaiian Islands. The calm waters of Honaunau Bay provided abundant fish and other marine resources, while its gentle upland slopes offered conditions conducive to the growth of abundant crops of taro, bananas, sweet potatoes, sugarcane, and later, breadfruit. Also available were stands of hardwood trees for constructing residences and religious structures and for manufacturing canoes. Much of Honaunau Bay’s attraction lay in its sheltered sandy beaches where canoes could easily land. A number of brackish springs actually tide pools in which fresh water from rain and natural seepage accumulated on the surface of the salt water provided a dependable water supply. It is not surprising the cove quickly became a favorite residence of Hawaiian royalty.

The refuge was an important part of Honaunau, the traditional seat of the chiefdom of Kona. The ruling chief and his court occupied the area at the head of Honaunau Bay and along the shore to the south. Lesser chiefs and commoners serving the court and priests resided on the north shore of the bay, toward the mountains, and possibly at Keokea and Ki’ilae villages to the south. All residences were basically one-room, wooden framework, thatched-roof structures. The chief’s complex would have consisted of several houses.

The ancient village of Honaunau was the ancestral home of the Kamehameha dynasty, serving in ancient times as a major Hawaiian religious and cultural center. In 1823 William Ellis noted that “Honaunau… was formerly a place of considerable importance, having been the frequent residence of the kings of Hawaii, for several successive generations.” When King Keawe-i kekahi-ali’i-o-ka-moku of Kona, Kamehameha’s great-grandfather, died about 1650, his bones were placed in a temple constructed on a platform next to the refuge. His mana, inherited from his ancestral gods, and that of his descendants became the power protecting the refuge at Honaunau. The structure, in which his remains reposed, the Hale-o-Keawe, became a royal mausoleum, holding the bones of several more of Kamehameha’s ancestors and thereby endowing the area with extreme sacredness and the refuge with powerful guardian spirits.

Although the canoe traffic of ancient times moved easily in and out of the small harbor of Honaunau Bay, the water was not deep enough to accommodate the European and American trading ships that began arriving in Hawaii late in the eighteenth century. For that reason Kamehameha and other ali’i anxious to initiate social and economic interaction with foreigners moved to other harbors, such as Kailua and Honolulu. This was the beginning of the decline in Honaunau’s importance, which increased with the abolition of the kapu system in 1819, at which time the benefits of absolution and forgiveness provided by places of refuge became unnecessary. Honaunau over the years declined in population as it changed in character from a royal residence of kings, a religious and political center, and a refuge site to just another seacoast village that gradually lost inhabitants to the upland sections in the 1840s as happened in other places.

Kona climate is warm and humid. Temperatures range from the 70s in the winter to the 90s in the summer. Bring a hat, lots of sunscreen and water with you when you visit the park. Also remember good hiking shoes if you will be walking along the coastal trail because the lava makes for an uneven walking surface.

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Please do not feed or harass any wildlife. Remember this is a delicate ecosystem.

Entrance fees are $5.00/ 7days for cars, $3.00/ 7 days for people walking or riding a bike, or $25.00 – Annual pass.

There is no camping in the park.

Driving south towards Volcano from Kailua-Kona on Highway 11, turn down towards the ocean on Route 160 at the Honaunau Post Office. Watch for the park sign as you drive towards the ocean.

Approximate Mileage from the following major cities to Pu`uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park:

By Car:

Kaawaloa, HI – 3.72 miles

Ainapo, HI – 66.67 miles

Hale Pili, HI – 19.94 miles

Honalo, HI – 13.72 miles

Pu ‘uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park, P.O. Box 129, Honaunau, HI 96726

Headquarters 808.328.2326

Visitor Information 808.328.2288

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