Nu'uanu Pali Lookout

Dramatic mountain pass with sweeping windward views and legendary winds

The Nu'uanu Pali Lookout sits at 350 metres in the Ko'olau Mountains above Honolulu, on the edge of a sheer cliff that drops into the windward side of Oahu. The view is one of the best on the island — the Koolau Valley, the coastal lowlands of Kaneohe, and the windward coast stretching north and south. The wind at the lookout is permanent and frequently violent enough to lean into; visitors regularly hold onto railings.

The site is historically significant: it was here that Kamehameha I completed his conquest of Oahu in 1795. The drive from Honolulu takes 20 minutes through the Nu'uanu Valley. Often combined with a stop at the Byodo-In Temple on the windward side.

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A story
In 1795, Kamehameha I drove the defending Oahu forces up the Nu'uanu Valley during his conquest of the island. Hundreds of warriors were pushed over the 300-metre cliff at the Pali. When early highway workers were blasting the road through the pass in 1898, they discovered a mass of bones at the base of the cliff — the remains of Kamehameha's enemies.

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