Qualla: ʻAkaka Falls State Park https://qualla.com/akaka-falls-state-park en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:09 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/8/e/9/8/akaka-falls-state-park-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: ʻAkaka Falls State Park https://qualla.com/akaka-falls-state-park ʻAkaka Falls State Park: Introduction https://qualla.com/akaka-falls-state-park/ Photo credit Richard J Kruse, CC BY-SA 3.0. There is a stone at ʻAkaka Falls called Pōhaku a Pele. Strike it with a branch of lehua āpane — a dark-red-blossomed variety of the native ʻōhia tree — and, according to Hawaiian folklore, the sky will darken and rain will fall. Given that this stretch of the Hamakua Coast already receives some of the heaviest rainfall in Hawaiʻi, the stone may not need much help. But the story captures something true about this place: water is everything here. It carved the gorge, feeds the falls, and sustains a rainforest so dense that the 442-foot cascade can vanish behind curtains of mist before you even reach the overlook.

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Image: Richard J Kruse | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/8/e/9/8/akaka-falls-state-park-wp/8e98-akaka-falls-state-park-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full ʻAkaka Falls State Park: A Chief's Namesake https://qualla.com/akaka-falls-state-park/ Photo credit Bgabel, Public domain. ʻAkaka Falls takes its name from Chief ʻAkaka-o-ka-nīʻau-oiʻo-i-ka-wao, grandson of Kūlanikapele and Kīakalohia. The falls and its surrounding park sit about 11 miles north of Hilo, just west of the small town of Honomū, at the end of Hawaiʻi Route 220. A paved loop trail winds t...

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Image: Bgabel | Public domain

]]> Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/8/e/9/8/akaka-falls-state-park-wp/8e98-akaka-falls-state-park-a-chiefs-namesake.mp3 0:06 2 full ʻAkaka Falls State Park: The Shrimp That Climbs Waterfalls https://qualla.com/akaka-falls-state-park/ Photo credit Yanamad at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0. The falls plunge into Kolekole Stream, and about 70 feet upstream from the lip sits a large boulder called Pōhaku o Kāloa, one of several named stones that anchor the site in Hawaiian cultural geography. But the stream holds a biological wonder as well. A native freshwater shrimp...

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Image: Yanamad at English Wikipedia | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/8/e/9/8/akaka-falls-state-park-wp/8e98-akaka-falls-state-park-the-shrimp-that-climbs-waterfalls.mp3 0:06 3 full ʻAkaka Falls State Park: Rainforest on the Rim https://qualla.com/akaka-falls-state-park/ Photo credit brewbooks from near Seattle, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0. Walking the loop trail at ʻAkaka Falls feels less like visiting a waterfall and more like entering a greenhouse without walls. The park sits in the wet belt of the Hamakua Coast, where moisture-laden trade winds rise against the slopes of Mauna Kea and release their burden as nea...

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Image: brewbooks from near Seattle, USA | CC BY-SA 2.0

]]> Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/8/e/9/8/akaka-falls-state-park-wp/8e98-akaka-falls-state-park-rainforest-on-the-rim.mp3 0:06 4 full ʻAkaka Falls State Park: Water Shapes Everything https://qualla.com/akaka-falls-state-park/ Photo credit Phil Whitehouse from London, United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0. Hawaiʻi Island's windward coast is defined by waterfalls, but ʻAkaka stands out for both its height and its setting. At 442 feet, it is among the tallest accessible waterfalls in the state, and the gorge it has carved into the Kohala-age basalt is still actively deepening. Heavy ...

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Image: Phil Whitehouse from London, United Kingdom | CC BY 2.0

]]> Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/8/e/9/8/akaka-falls-state-park-wp/8e98-akaka-falls-state-park-water-shapes-everything.mp3 0:06 5 full