Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site

An impressive Heiau that my husband & I visited thanks to the recommendation of Luana from Lehua Jewelers in Waimea. We highly recommend watching the 27min epic documentary in the theater section of the visitor's center. It's a compelling story of King Kamehameha's prophecy that provided us a deeper understanding of this sacred temple, its importance to Hawaiians & how it united the islands. Afterwards, we walked up the path to the Heiau to marvel at its ancient, formidable structure up close. It's fascinating that it took a human chain consisting of thousands of workers to construct this building one stone at a time. There's a part of the exhibit where visitors can lift massive stones the same size that these workers passed along to each other, creating an immersive experience. We also felt the weight of various spears that the chiefs carried into battle & played Konane, a game of checkers. There's a bay nearby that we do NOT recommend swimming in. It's a good lesson for tourists to read museum signs because we read that sharks are present in that water. The Heiau was built by a family who revered sharks. We visited an hour before closing & George, the park ranger, welcomed us to the Place of Unity — very symbolic for us newlyweds who just celebrated our union. Overall a great stop to learn Hawai'i's history & culture!

One of the nicest visitor centers I have seen. Extremely informative and interesting Hawaiian history. Short, paved walkway with great views of the fort and bay.

This heiau has a great visitor center built in the same style, which features a movie about the area and a gift shop. There's also a short paved loop path below the heiau, where you can see it from different angles and learn some interesting details. There's also a picturesque beach nearby adorned by palm trees.

Probably the most interesting National Historic Site we visited on Hawai'i. We started at the visitor center and watched a very interesting and well-made documentary about King Kamehamea I. This State Park is a must-see when visiting Big Island.

We visited this historic site because my kids love collecting stamps for their NPS passport. This place is actually a sacred temple built by King Kamehameha of Hawaii. He believed that building this temple would help him unite all the Hawaiian islands. The temple is made up of many stones arranged in a precise formation, without any mortar holding them together. The setting is beautiful, right by the coast with the wind blowing in. You can see people talking to the ranger and watching a video about the history of the place. There’s a small paved path, about half a mile long, that takes you down to sea level and back up. The whole area is very scenic. From the temple, you can see the sea and, if you're lucky, some whales. We spent about an hour here on a lovely afternoon and enjoyed it very much. I highly recommend visiting this place.

Great park to learn area history. No access to the main fort. Probably best to visit in the morning since it can get pretty hot in the afternoon. The gift shop was really good. A great selection of books on history and a good selection of t-shirts.

Lots of historical information on this stop. You can go on a short hike to see all of the relics and small settlement by the water. We enjoyed the brief hike to break up the day. Lots of good information and you are able to play the commentary on your phone so you can listen to what you are looking at.

This is a great little park. The park ranger, George, was extremely friendly and helpful in interpreting the area for us. Well worth a visit if you're interested in how the Hawaiian Islands were united by Kamehameha.