Halawa Valley Waterfalls, East Molokai

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4]

On the final day of our Molokai Trip, we booked a guided tour in Halawa Valley in East Molokai… which was the only way for us to legally access the valley. We were fortunate enough to see both waterfalls in the valley as well as learn about some of the Halawa Valley’s history and culture.

The road to Halawa valley is long one… especially if coming from Kaunakakai, like we did. We met our tour guide near the picnic pavilion in Halawa Park, near the end of the end of Kamehameha Highway. We followed him onto his property (he’s riding the bicycle) and were lucky enough to park there, so we wouldn’t have to walk as far into the valley.

Upon entering, he told us about the history of the valley as well as described several cultural sites and their significance…

He also went on to explaining about the lifestyle of the residents in Halawa… here he spoke of the importance of Kalo/Taro farming to native Hawaiians.

Unlike some other tours, he gave us the option to do a self-guided tour and explore the valley… and after verifying some details about safety while hiking here and a verbal “waiver-signing,” we set foot on a mildly graded trail into the back of the valley.

Within 20-30 minutes of hiking, we came to an opening in the dense canopy where we were able to see both Moa‘ula (or referred to as Mo‘o‘ula as the correct name by some of the locals) and Hipuapua Falls.

I forgot to mention, that we actually had a tour guide to the back of the valley. From our actual tour-guide’s home, Nani the poi-dog (mixed breed), accompanied us and even rock-hopped while crossing the stream to Moa‘ula falls.

We jumped off trail for a few minutes to get a better perspective of two-tiered waterfall, which is not as apparent from the pool at the base of the lower falls.

Our tour guide had mentioned to us about a ambiguous petroglyph on one of the boulders near the pool at the bottom of the falls.

Before entering the pool, we were told to drop a ti leaf in the water as a means of “asking for permission” to swim. If it floated, we were welcomed to jump in… if it sank, we were to admire Moa‘ula from the banks of the pool and stream.

I’m glad the ti leaf floated, because everyone was excited to jump in… except me, who was still feeling lousy from my cold I had caught earlier in the week.

After having a few snacks and feeling refreshed from the dip, we headed back to where Halawa stream (from Moa‘ula) junctioned with Hipuapua stream. We stuck to the bank on a faint trail, but rock-hopped at several points that were overgrown.

Within ~20 minutes or so, we were able to regain sight of the top of Hipuapua falls.

As we approached closer to the falls, we able to get a better perspective of how much larger it was when compared to the step falls of Moa‘ula falls. Hipupuapua is supposedly ~500 feet in height.

There wasn’t a pool at deep pool to swim in at the bottom, but it was still a magnificent place for photo-ops! So appreciative we were able to visit both waterfalls, as I hear several tours do not come here because of safety concerns. Mahalo nui loa to our tour guide who was so gracious to share the valley with us!

*Note: I used Moa‘ula as the name for the 1st waterfall we visited because it had more references for it’s name (e.g., Place names of Hawai‘i – Pukui et al. 1974 and USGS topographical maps). Much apologies, if this is incorrect.

Again, access to back of Halawa Valley requires permission from locals/residents there. There are a few different tour companies that offer tours, so do some online research to find which best suits your experience while visiting Molokai. The stream crossings will require you to rock hop, so be prepared with appropriate footwear (i.e. felt-bottomed footwear / tabis) and/or hiking gear. Hawai‘i’s streams can also be flashy in nature due to frequent rainfall at upper elevations, and particularly during the local wet-season (November 1st – April 31st). Please exercise caution as regular flooding events can make hiking in and along streams dangerous.

Aloha and mahalo nui for visiting… Come back again soon!

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