Waipio Valley is a valley located in the

Hamakua Hāmākua is a district on the northeast coast of Hawaii (island), Hawaii's Big Island, administered by the Hawaii County, Hawaii, County of Hawaii in the state of Hawaii, Hawaii. It is also the name given for the coastline in the region, the "Hā ...

District of the Big Island of

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 ...

. "Waipio" means "curved water" in the

Hawaiian language Hawaiian (', ) is a Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language o ...

. The valley was the capital and permanent residence of many early Hawaiian

Aliʻi The aliʻi were the traditional nobility of the Hawaiian islands. They were part of a hereditary line of rulers, the ''noho aliʻi''. The word ''aliʻi'' has a similar meaning in the Samoan language and other Polynesian languages, and in Māori ...

(chiefs/kings) up until the time of King Umi. This was a place celebrated for its ''nioi'' tree (''

Eugenia reinwardtiana ''Eugenia reinwardtiana'' (Chamorro: a'abang) is a shrub to small tree in the family Myrtaceae, (Native to tropical forests in northern Queensland, Australia; Indonesia, and the Pacific Islands). Also known as the Cedar Bay cherry. Other comm ...

'') known as the ''Nioi wela o Paakalana'' ("The burning Nioi of Paakalana"). It was the location of the ancient grass palace of the ancient "kings" of Hawaiʻi with the ''nioi'' stands.

Kahekili II Kahekili II, full name Kahekilinuiʻahumanu, (c. 1737–1794) was an ali'i (''Moʻi'') of Maui. His name was short for Kāne-Hekili after the Hawaiian god of thunder. Because Kāne-Hekili was believed to be black on one side, Kahekili tattooed o ...

( king of Maui) raided Waipio in the 18th century and burned the four sacred trees to the ground. The first chief who had a court in this valley was called Kahaimoelea. The valley floor at sea level is almost below the surrounding terrain. A steep road leads down into the valley from a lookout point located on the top of the southern wall of the valley. The road rises in at a 25% average grade, with significantly steeper grades in sections. Some portions of the road can reach up to a 45% grade, which would make Waipio Valley Road the steepest in the world, compared to

Baldwin Street Baldwin Street, in Dunedin, New Zealand is located in the residential suburb of North East Valley, northeast of Dunedin's central business district. ''Guinness World Records'' calls it the steepest street in the world, meaning no street gain ...

's 35%. This is a paved public road but it is open only to 4 wheel drive vehicles. It is the steepest road of its length in the United States. The shore line in the valley is a

black sand Black sand is sand that is black in color. One type of black sand is a heavy, glossy, partly magnetic mixture of usually fine sands containing minerals such as magnetite, found as part of a placer deposit. Another type of black sand, found on b ...

beach, popular with

surfers Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable ...

. A few

taro Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Africa ...

farms are located in the valley. Several large waterfalls fall into the valley to feed the river which flows from the foot of the largest falls at the back of the valley out to the ocean. A foot trail called Waimanu or Muliwai Trail leads down a steep path to the

Waimanu Valley Waimanu Valley is a remote valley on the northeast coast of Hawaii island. Besides the main Waimanu Stream, it includes Waihīlau Falls on a tributary. Description ''Wai manu'' literally means "bird water" or "river of birds" in the Hawaiian langu ...

, which is only accessible by the trail or by boat. The trail is accessible to hikers, who need a Waimanu camping permit from the state unless they do the trek as a strenuous day hike. At the upper end of the valley, Waimanu Gap at elevation leads to the south end of Waimanu Valley. The valley was the site of the final scene in the 1995 sci-fi film ''

Waterworld ''Waterworld'' is a 1995 American post-apocalyptic action film directed by Kevin Reynolds and co-written by Peter Rader and David Twohy. It was based on Rader's original 1986 screenplay and stars Kevin Costner, who also produced it with Charl ...

'', at which the main characters found dry land. Waipio Valley Road was closed to visitors from February 25, 2022, to September 19, 2022 "as a precautionary safety measure and to further assess and mitigate the road’s conditions". Officials stated there was roadway and slope failure and the closure includes visitors both in vehicles and on foot. As of September 19, 2022, access to the valley floor with a covered 4WD vehicle is possible again for Big Island residents, county-permitted tour company operators and those seeking to practice their Native Hawaiian traditional or customary rights.

In Hawaiian folklore

It has a role in local

Hawaiian folklore Folklore in Hawaii in modern times is a mixture of various aspects of Hawaiian mythology and various urban legends that have been passed on regarding various places in the Hawaiian islands. The following is a partial list of some of these legends. ...

as a place where the gateway to

Lua-o-Milu In Hawaiian religion, Lua-o-Milu is the land of the dead, ruled by Milu. Entrance to Lua-o-Milu is from the top of a valley wall or sea cliff where the soul departs via a tree. It is reported that each Hawaiian island has at least one leaping plac ...

(the Underworld) was hidden from view by sand.

References

External links

Getty Images Waipio Pictures
{{coord, 20, 7, 11, N, 155, 35, 36, W, display=title Canyons and gorges of Hawaii Valleys of Hawaii Landforms of Hawaii (island) Royal residences in Hawaii Beaches of Hawaii (island) Black sand beaches