Hawaii Route 61, often called the Pali Highway, is in

Honolulu County Honolulu County (officially known as the City and County of Honolulu, formerly Oahu County) is a consolidated city–county in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The city–county includes both the city of Honolulu (the state's capital and largest city) ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, United States, that is the main highway connecting

downtown Honolulu Downtown Honolulu is the current historic, economic, and governmental center of Honolulu, the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is bounded by Nuuanu Stream to the west, Ward Avenue to the east, Vineyard Boulevard to the nor ...

with the windward side of

Oahu Oahu () (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering place#Island of Oʻahu as The Gathering Place, Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over t ...

island. From downtown, it traverses up Nuuanu Valley and the residential neighborhood of Nuuanu, passes through the Nuuanu Pali Tunnels, and descends to the major windward communities of Kāneohe (reached by

Kamehameha Highway Kamehameha Highway is one of the main highways serving suburban and rural O‘ahu in the U.S. state of Hawai‘i. Informally known as Kam Highway, it begins at Nimitz Highway near Pearl Harbor and Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu, serves the is ...

, State Route 83) and

Kailua Kailua () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States. It lies in the North Koolaupoko, Hawaii, Koolaupoko District of the island of Oahu, Oahu on the windward and leeward, windward coast at Kailua Bay. It is i ...

History

The current Pali Highway is actually the third roadway to be built here. The original Pali "highway" went along much of the same route and portions of the old road still exist, although closed to vehicular traffic. When the current Pali Highway and its tunnels opened, the original roadway was closed and is now used by hikers. The "Old Pali Highway", as it is now called, is noted in the popular culture of Hawaii for being a place with strong spiritual connections. Many

ghost stories A ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them."Ghost Stories" in Margaret Drabble (ed.), ''Oxford Companion to English Literature''. ...

have settings along this old highway. A large portion of the old highway was built over the ancient Hawaiian foot paths that traversed the famous Pali pass, which was the most easily accessible route to take from the Windward to Honolulu side. This was because much of the Koolau range on the Windward side has steep cliffs that make it nearly impossible to traverse over safely. "Pali" is the Hawaiian word for precipice. The highway was mentioned as an "awe-inspiring drive" in ''

Car and Driver ''Car and Driver'' (''CD'' or ''C/D'') is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. In 2006 its total circulation was 1.23 million. It is owned by Hearst Magazines, who purchased prior owner Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. in 2011. It was fou ...

s "10 Best Drivers' Cities."

Points of interest

The lower mouth of Nuuanu valley is the site of historic

Oahu Cemetery The Oahu Cemetery is the resting place of many notable early residents of the Honolulu area. They range from missionaries and politicians to sports pioneers and philosophers. Over time it was expanded to become an area known as the Nuuanu Cemete ...

, founded in 1844. Over time it was expanded with the

Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

in 1863, and the

Kyoto Gardens of Honolulu Memorial Park The Kyoto Gardens of Honolulu Memorial Park is a cemetery located in the eastern half of the Honolulu Memorial Park, 22 Craigside Place, Honolulu, Hawaii. Its three-tiered Sanju Pagoda, the Kinkaku-ji Temple, and Mirror Gardens are fine examples ...

. A few blocks to the east is the

National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (informally known as Punchbowl Cemetery) is a national cemetery located at Punchbowl Crater in Honolulu, Hawaii. It serves as a memorial to honor those men and women who served in the United Stat ...

. Hawaii Route 61 has several free scenic lookouts, including the

Pali Lookout Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

. The Queen Emma Summer Palace is also on the Pali (2913 Pali Hwy). The following foreign consulates are located on the Pali: * Consulate General of Korea, 2756 Pali Hwy * Consulate General of the Philippines, 2433 Pali Hwy * Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, 2746 Pali Hwy The Pali is also the site of the following houses of worship and religious originations: * Bentenshu Hawaii Kyokai, 3871 Old Pali Rd * Saint Stephen Diocesan Center (Roman Catholic), 6301 Pali Hwy *

First Unitarian Church of Honolulu The First Unitarian Church of Honolulu is the largest Hawaii-based congregation within the Unitarian Universalist Association. It is located at 2500 Pali Highway in the Nu'uanu Valley. The congregation was founded in 1952 as a lay fellowship. The ...

, 2500 Pali Hwy * Hawaii Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 2728 Pali Hwy * Honmon Butsuryushu Hawaii Mission, 3001 Pali Hwy *

Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawai'i The Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii ( ja, 本派本願寺ハワイ別院, ''Honpa Honganji Hawai Betsuin'') is a district of the Nishi (West) Hongwanji branch of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, a school of Mahayana Pure Land Buddhism. History Jodo S ...

Betsuin, 1727 Pali Hwy. * Nuuanu Congregational Church, Pali Hwy * St. Stephen Church (Roman Catholic), 2747 Pali Hwy * Soka Gakkai Intl-USA, 2729 Pali Hwy * Temple Emanu-El (reform), 2550 Pali Hwy * Tenrikyo Hawaii Dendocho, 2920 Pali Hwy

Names of State Route 61

* "Fort Street" at the intersection of Vineyard Boulevard * "Pali Highway" (from downtown Honolulu to Castle Junction near Maunawili) * "Kalanianaole Highway" (from Castle Junction to Castle Medical Center in Kailua * "Kailua Road" (from Castle Medical Center to central Kailua)

Major intersections

References

External links