Mānoa Falls Trail is a trail on the island 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 ...

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 ...

. The trail is a part of the Honolulu Makau Trail System, and leads to a popular 150 foot

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

called

Manoa Falls Manoa Falls is a 150-foot waterfall along the Manoa Falls Trail in Honolulu, Hawaii. Swimming in the pool below the waterfall is highly discouraged because there is a threat of becoming infected with Leptospirosis, a disease causing mild to modera ...

. Hiking the trail is approximately a one-hour round trip. Many tourists are attracted to the waterfall and scenery throughout the trail. The trails have a history as one of the earlier Hawaiian trails. There are many legends of the Night Marchers, or ancient Hawaiian warriors associated with Manoa Falls. Scenes in movies such as ''

Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later also referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton and centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. It began in 1990 when ...

'' and ''

Catching Fire ''Catching Fire'' is a 2009 science fiction young adult novel by the American novelist Suzanne Collins, the second book in ''The Hunger Games'' series. As the sequel to the 2008 bestseller ''The Hunger Games'', it continues the story of Katni ...

'' were filmed at Manoa Falls. The Manoa Falls trail harbors many plant species and tropical birds as well. The

Lyon Arboretum The Harold L. Lyon Arboretum is a arboretum and botanical garden managed by the University of Hawaii at Manoa, University of Hawaii at Mānoa located at the upper end of Manoa, Mānoa Valley in Hawaii, Hawaii. Much of the Arboretum's botanical c ...

, located in the

Manoa Valley Mānoa (, ) is a valley and a residential neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii, Hawaii. The neighborhood is approximately three miles (5 km) east and inland from downtown Honolulu and less than a mile (1600 m) from Ala Moana and Waikiki at . ...

at the base of the trail is another popular tourist attraction and aims to preserve endangered Hawaiian plants. Some may say that this trail is "Easy". However, there is currently no formal way of rating trails. Therefore, since the trail can be very slippery when wet the rating can be subjective. Thus, users should use caution on any trail and turn around if not comfortable. Rain showers are very common on the trail and the path to the waterfall is often muddy and slippery. Flash floods may also occur at any time. Swimming in the pools of water on the trail is highly discouraged due to the threat of

Leptospirosis Leptospirosis is a blood infection caused by the bacteria ''Leptospira''. Signs and symptoms can range from none to mild (headaches, muscle pains, and fevers) to severe ( bleeding in the lungs or meningitis). Weil's disease, the acute, severe ...

Location

Manoa Falls Trail

The Manoa Falls Trail is a 1.6 mile trail (round trip) that is a part of the Honolulu Makau Trail System, which consists of 17 other trails in close proximity. The Manoa Falls trail also includes the

, and the

. Many people hike the trail to see the Manoa Falls, a 150-foot

that empties into a small pool of water. The location is often referred to as the "Rainbow Valley", because of the frequent

rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

s. The Manoa valley and the surrounding area is considered a

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as ''lowland equatori ...

. The Manoa Falls Trail is very humid and frequent rain showers throughout the area are very common. This climate allows for an abundance of plants and wildlife. The trail, specifically near the waterfall is normally damp and muddy.

Manoa, Oahu

The Manoa Falls trail is located in the valley of

Manoa Mānoa (, ) is a valley and a residential neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii. The neighborhood is approximately three miles (5 km) east and inland from downtown Honolulu and less than a mile (1600 m) from Ala Moana and Waikiki at . Neighbo ...

which receives rain almost every day resulting in the valley being richly vegetated. Rainbows are common and is a source of The University of Hawaii at Manoa sport teams names, the Rainbow Warriors (men) and Rainbow Wahines (women). College students visit the Manoa Falls trail often for research and educational purposes.

Nearby Trails

The Manoa Falls trail is part of the Honolulu Mauka Trail System. This system consists of 18 trails surrounding the Honolulu area. # Tantalus Arboretum Trail (0.25 mi / 0.4 km) # Kanealole Trail (0.7 mi / 1.1 km) # Maunalaha Trail (0.7 mi / 1.1 km) # Nahuina Trail (0.75 mi / 1.2 km) # Makiki Valley Trail (1.1 mi / 1.8 km) # Ualaka’a Trail (0.5 mi / 0.85 km) # Moleka Trail (0.75 mi / 1.2 km) # Manoa Cliff Trail (2.3 mi / 3.7 km) # Pu’u Ohia Trail (0.75 mi / 1.2 km) # Pauoa Flats Trail (0.75 mi / 1.2 km) # Nu’uanu Trail (1.5 mi / 2.4 km) # Judd Trail (0.75 mi / 1.2 km) # Aihualama Trail (1.3 mi / 2.1 km) # Manoa Falls Trail (0.8 mi / 1.3 km) # Kolowalu Trail (1.0 mi / 1.6 km) # Wa’ahila Trail (2.4 mi / 0.6 km) # Pu’u Pia Trail (0.75 mi / 1.2 km) # Kalawahine Trail (1.5 mi / 2.4 km) White-rumped shama2

Ecology

Tropical birds such as the Shama, a chestnut colored bird with a black and white tail inhabit the trails. The trail also contains many

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...

s, ginger plants, banyan trees,

eucalyptus trees ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...

, bamboo trees, and hau trees. The hau trees can be distinguished by their flowers which are bright yellow with a dark red center, very similar to those of other

hibiscus ''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising several hundred species that are native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species ...

species.

History and culture

The Manoa Falls Trail was one of the earlier Hawaiian trails and it was most likely used for hunting, bathing, gathering plants, and wood. The wood found on the trails was used by earlier Hawaiians for making canoes, the bark was sometimes used for sandals, and the

tree sap 01 or '01 may refer to: * The year 2001, or any year ending with 01 * The month of January * 1 (number) Music * 01'' (Richard Müller album), 2001 * ''01'' (Son of Dave album), 2000 * ''01'' (Urban Zakapa album), 2011 * ''O1'' (Hiroyuki Sawa ...

was used as a

laxative Laxatives, purgatives, or aperients are substances that loosen stools and increase bowel movements. They are used to treat and prevent constipation. Laxatives vary as to how they work and the side effects they may have. Certain stimulant, lubri ...

Night marchers

Stories and legends have long been linked to Manoa Falls. The legend of the Night Marchers is one of the most evocative. The Night Marchers, or the Phantom Marchers are said to be the Spirits of Ancient Hawaiian Warriors. As the legend tells, the direct path of the Night Marchers is the

Banyan Tree A banyan, also spelled "banian", is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adventitious prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as a ...

located in the beginning of the Manoa Falls Trail. It is said the Night Marchers haunt the Manoa Falls Trail and the sounds of banshee screams can be heard as you hike the trail.

Appearance in movies and television series

In the movie Jurassic Park Manoa Falls was used was a filming location. Additionally, Manoa Falls was used as a filming location in the movie

, featured as the film's jungle arena. Manoa Falls was also used to film scenes in the television shows ''

Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

'' and '' Hawaii Five-0 ''.

Deaths and injuries

On April 12, 2012, Phillip S. Mann from Scottsmoor, FL fell down the falls during an evening hike alone. Hikers heard cries for help that evening, but search parties did not locate a person. The following day, hikers discovered his body at the bottom of the river bed. The young man likely died on impact. On June 15, 2016 19-year-old Kristi Takanishi, a 2015 valedictorian from Kaiser high school in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

Hawaii, fell from the top of

and died two days later. Sources say she was taking pictures with friends when she slipped and fell off the edge, 200 ft down the waterfall into the small pool of water. Cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma to the head.

Tourism

Manoa falls is the second most popular trail on the island of

. There is less water in the waterfall during the summer months. Also, in addition to the Manoa Falls Trail, many tourists visit the other trails in the Honolulu Mauka Trail System. Students at

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

also visit the trail for research and educational purposes.

Risks

There are signs throughout the trail that warn visitors of risk of

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...

in the water, and possible

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...

s. The Hawaiian State Department of Health discourages swimming and wading in the small pools surrounding the trail and waterfall. This is because of a bacterial disease called

, which is common in

tropical climate Tropical climate is the first of the five major climate groups in the Köppen climate classification identified with the letter A. Tropical climates are defined by a monthly average temperature of 18 °C (64.4 °F) or higher in the cool ...

s such as Hawaii and is found in

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

. The disease can be passed down from animals to humans, and rats and

mice A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

are the most common sources in Hawaii. The disease can cause mild to moderate

flu-like symptoms Influenza-like illness (ILI), also known as flu-like syndrome or flu-like symptoms, is a medical diagnosis of possible influenza or other illness causing a set of common symptoms. These include fever, shivering, chills, malaise, dry cough, loss ...

that can last for up to 1 to 2 weeks.

Lyon Arboretum

Located in the

section of the Manoa Falls Trail, the

contains over 5000 plant species. Some of the plant species include,

heliconia ''Heliconia'', derived from the Greek word (), is a genus of flowering plants in the monotypic family Heliconiaceae. Most of the ca 194 known species are native to the tropical Americas, but a few are indigenous to certain islands of the we ...

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

aroids The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe (or leaf-like bract). Also k ...

bromeliads The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...

, and other native Hawaiian plants. The

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

works to preserve and restore Hawaii's tropical forests, and many endangered plant species. It also functions as both research and academic resources by providing different programs that develop innovations to restore endangered native Hawaiian plants.

Rainbows End Snack Shop

Near entrance to Manoa Falls Trail is a snack shop called Rainbow's End. Hikers pay for vehicle parking ($7 per vehicle, $4 for Hawaii residents with I.D.), pick up forgotten equipment, or food.

References

{{Reflist Hiking trails in Hawaii