Na Pali Coast

The Na Pali Coast is where Kauai runs out of road and turns vertical: some sixteen roadless miles of fluted volcanic cliffs rising close to 4,000 feet straight from the Pacific, pleated into green cathedral folds, slit by hanging valleys and dropping to beaches that can only be earned. There are three ways to meet it, each a different place. The Kalalau Trail threads eleven famous miles along the cliff faces from Haena to Kalalau Beach - the first two miles to Hanakapiai open to day hikers with reservations, the rest permit-only wilderness. Boat and kayak tours run the coast from the water in summer's calm, nosing into sea caves beneath waterfalls. And from above, the Kalalau Lookout in Kokee delivers the whole amphitheatre in one gasp, valley walls plunging to a crescent of sand far below.

What you actually see

• The Kalalau Lookout - the full cliff amphitheatre from 4,000 feet in Kokee.
• The Kalalau Trail - the cliff-hugging path toward Hanakapiai and beyond.
• The coast by boat - sea caves, waterfalls and the cliffs from the water.
• Kalalau Beach - the earned crescent at the wilderness trail's end.

When to go

May to September brings the calm seas that boat and kayak trips need; winter swells cancel departures and close beaches, though the cliffs then run loud with waterfalls. The lookouts work year-round when the clouds allow - go early before they build.

Honest expectations

Nothing here is casual: Haena State Park entry and parking must be reserved up to 30 days ahead and sells out, Kalalau camping permits go months in advance, and the trail is genuinely hazardous when wet. Boat tours are expensive and swell-dependent - build in a weather margin.

Nearby

Hanalei Bay, Waimea Canyon and the Kokee forest trails.