Mānoa Heritage Center

Stunning! The views and everything was beautiful and mesmerizing. Couldn't get enough of the beauty here, just wow! You can drive through the botanical free of charge. Just remember to respect the rules and beauty of the land. If you're not a local, it's best to rent a rental for the day instead of paying an uber, this way, you can also visit the near by beaches and drive the island.

The Manoa Heritage Center is a great place to learn about and experience Hawaiian culture. With its antique buildings and well-maintained gardens, it is attractive in its own right.

Although it was raining, it just added a nice effect to the true nature of the center. A great place for learning and teaching with indoor and outdoor classes. Great to bring large groups and bus friendly with huge turn around drive coming in from Oahu Ave.

A Hidden Treasure in Mānoa! My tour at the Mānoa Heritage Center was absolutely amazing! The grounds are stunning—filled with native Hawaiian plants like the beautiful ʻōhiʻa lehua, which I especially appreciated as someone who practices lei making. Walking through the gardens felt deeply inspiring, like reconnecting with the roots of our island traditions. The history of the property was fascinating. Seeing old photos of Mānoa and hearing how the land was transformed gave me such a deep appreciation for this place and the people who care for it. As a special treat, we were offered fresh-picked ʻulu, juicy mountain apple, and a refreshing cool cup of tea at the end. The groundskeeper was so warm, welcoming, and knowledgeable—it truly felt like visiting extended ʻohana. If you're looking for something meaningful, peaceful, and rich with Hawaiian culture, this tour is an absolute must. I’ll carry the mana of this experience with me in every lei I make.

Very gorgeous and peaceful place, good place to learn Hawaiian History of Manoa Valley here on Oahu. The volunteers and staff were very nice, accommodating, and knowledgeable of the property. Great for school field trips.

Must for green lover. A lovely girl guided us through the garden and around the mansion explaining about the vegitation of Hawaii and the history while refering to several interesting legends. She also let us enjoy fresh fruits and juice harvested in the garden.

Liked this cultural place, off the beaten path in Manoa. Lots of anecdotes of old Hawaiiana by the guide Filled in from the earlier, Hawaiian Mission tour.

Wonderful tour. Very informative, despite the torrential rainstorm in the middle! Learned a lot. Thanks! Reserve ahead of time.

Wow, this is a must-visit place on Oahu. For years Manoa Valley has been a favorite place to walk and explore; the Manoa Heritage Center is right in the middle but surprisingly hidden unless you know where to go. The center is on the property of the prominent Cooke Family, with their house, gardens, and heiau as the main draws to exploring. The Heritage Center itself is a modern open-air building with offices and a classroom for lectures and workshops, including Hawaii art & crafts. On our visit, we took the garden tour. Our docent was gentle and super knowledgeable about the grounds, plants, and family history of the property. It was slow and intentional, this is not a place to rush so plan on spending time here. Our tour took a ring around the property including the heiau, stories of the native Hawaiians that lived here, the respect of the family in the building of the home and maintaining the land, the plants themselves. It's a nominal fee to book and well worth the price, see online. At the conclusion of the tour we had tea made from plants grown on the property. They have a little nursery for plants as well. While you cannot go inside the house at this time due to ongoing repairs, it's well worth a visit to enjoy the natural beauty of this island.

If you're curious about lovely Mānoa Valley, a docent led tour of the Mānoa Heritage Center is an edutaining (educational and entertaining) way to experience its geology and cultural history. Reservations were easily made online and paid, a month ahead. An email reminder with instructions popped up on my email the day before our party of five joined the tour. We couldn't have picked a more perfect day with the sun baked skies gleaming above the mountains flushed green from recent rains. Our tour around the sustainable gardens included a peek into the former home of the grounds' owners. It will one day be open to view but for now outside is where trees, shrubs and flowering plants sprawl in wild abandon. Our knowledgeable docent was to quick to name them and share tidbits of their meaning. As our docent also weaved stories of the past with Hawaiian archaeological footnotes and cultural references, we basked in the cool Mānoa breezes enchanted with the views and just relaxing in the soothing ambience. It's a 70-minute tour so dress appropriately for meandering across lawns and some rocky terrain, including a peek into the on property heiau. Check it out!

It's a nice little tour! I got to see some plants and a heiau within the site. The tour guide and one of the participants were both very knowledgeable and I learned a lot. Also the hibiscus tea they served afterwards was very refreshing. I enjoyed the tour a lot. It's not busy and it's a nice quick tour if you want something different other than the mainstream tours. It's up in the valley so it rains more often than the south shore area so make sure you bring an umbrella or a rain jacket!

Manoa Heritage Center is such a treasure in Manoa. I found this place when I was researching places to take fourth graders to learn about the Hawaiian ahupua'a. They have a great website that shows you all their different programs. They not only provide services for school children for field trips but they also have tours and classes for adults. The best part of this place is that it's free for students! Money is always an issue when planning field trips because you want to choose a good field trip but also one that doesn't break the bank. Not only was the admission free but the Manoa Heritage Center will also pay for the bus to go there. I was so excited to find out that the whole field trip would be free! We had a big group so we came on two days. We greeted them with our oli and they chanted their oli back to us. Then half the group went on a hike. On the hike, students learned about Hawaiian plants, the heiau built, and the Cooke family house that was built in 1911 (its still in good condition). The docents were very knowledgeable and shared all kinds of factoids with the students. The other half of the group occupied the classroom. They played an ahupua'a game. Each table was a section of the ahupua'a and as a group they had to decide how they would get their resources to survive. It was good for the students to work together and problem solve on how they would get the necessary items. Overall it was a great experience. I'm glad that I was able to find this place. They were easy to work with and the teachers and students enjoyed the field trip. I actually overheard a few students say "this is the best field trip ever."

In the middle of the valley sits a prestigious home of the Cooke family. They established a foundation to use the property as a Hawaiian heritage center that perpetuates history and legacy of the family and valley. Used for education, the center provides an open space for visiting groups and scholars. They also share tours of the property, taking visitors back 150 years of what the valley once was and how it was developed.