Due to the rugged mountainous terrain of the island, there are not many hikes that don’t go through crazy elevation, and involve major cardio. But the Mahaulepu trail in Poipu, in the Southern Shore of Kauai is one of those truly enjoyable hikes not just because it’s relatively easy, but because of the constantly changing landscape of the trail — around beautiful cliffs, Ironwood groves and fossilized sand dunes. With an overall elevation ascent of a mere 150 feet, it ranks among the least difficult hikes on the island.
The name Mahaulepu means “falling together,” as in two warriors falling in battle.
We parked at the Parking Lot in front of the Grand Hyatt at the Shipwreck Beach (a stunning, white sand beach filled with surfers and sunbathers, which gets its name from the wreckage of a fishing boat here in the mid-1970s.) and headed towards the cliff known as the Makawehi Point.
Hollywood Trivia : Harrison Ford and Anne Heche jumped off the Makawehi Point in “Six Days and Seven Nights”.
We started by walking on the beach and went up the Makawehi point which has gorgeous views of the ocean and the surfers. The unique thing about this trail is that you will be walking on lithified sand dunes through a large part of the way. The cementing of settling sand and volcanic sediment beneath it has sculpted the point’s cliffs and ledges, which today are continually being chipped away by wave erosion and trade winds.
As we made our way carefully along the edge of the cliff taking in the views of the ocean, the trail opened into sets of jutting pinnacles composed of limestone and sandstone. These are nature’s own sculptures/modern art created by years of rainwater washing into the crevices of the limestones. As we were walking in this area, waves exploded on the rocks and the ocean spray landed on our hot, sweaty bodies, providing a welcome relief!
Once we crossed the pinnacles, the trail took a downward dip then there was lush greenery created by a grove of She Oaks (Ironwood trees) with their characteristic needle-like branches that lay down a thick mat of litter on the sand that protects the soil surface. A little further into this grove and we arrived at a rocky cove skirted on the side by the She Oaks.
We came out of the grove and found ourselves entering an area that used to be an ancient Hawaaii’an Heiau (temple). A sign here suggests we not stray from a narrow footpath bordering these sacred grounds.
In a rather ironic twist, from this ancient sacred ground, we entered a part of the trail that goes through the manicured greens of the Poipu Golf Course! The reason for this rather jarring detour is landslides along the shoreline which resulted in that part of the trail being closed. Signs along this portion warn hikers to be aware of flying golf balls!
Once past the golf course there are horse stables and more rocky coastline before reaching the far point of the trail at Mahaulepu Beach and Gillin’s Beach. The distance was just a little over 2 miles and with numerous stops along the way for photos and exploration, we made it to the end in just below 90 minutes.
The journey back turned out to be quite adventurous. We realised it was getting close to sunset and since there are no lights on the trail, we didn’t want to get stuck in the middle of nowhere with zero visibility. We tried to speed walk back and jog back where we could and took a detour through an Ironwood forest we had avoided earlier since we wanted to walk along the coastline. What we didn’t realise is that this path takes us further away from the beach and opens up into a part of the trail inland that we had not seen before.
Just as we were trying to figure out where we were, the skies burst open and before we could get our rain jackets out of the backpack we were both soaked!
Luckily, I spotted moving cars through a thicket of coconut trees (where did they come from!) and we started walking in that general direction and came across an iron gate that led to the road. Thankfully, this road was not too far away from where we’d parked our car and it was just a short walk through the rain. I was amazed when I look at the time. We had made the return journey in 45 minutes, half the time it took us on the onward journey! Â Of course, the next morning my aching knees paid the price of that speed hike.
Mahaulepu has certainly become one of my favorite hikes of all times. Just the dizzying array of things you get to see and experience on this trail is enough to make me want to go back.
Bonus Videos
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