Kalalau Trail on the Nā Pali Coast

Nā Pali Coast State Wilderness Park, Kauai, Hawaii · United States

Challenging3 daysNorth America~£220 est.

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Overview

Eleven miles of trail carved into thousand-metre sea cliffs, ending at a beach you can only reach on foot or by kayak. The Kalalau Trail traces Kauai's Nā Pali Coast from Keʻe Beach through a corrugation of jungled valleys — Hanakāpīʻai, Hanakoa — to Kalalau Beach, where you camp under fluted green walls that starred as Jurassic Park's backdrop. The pinch is Crawler's Ledge around mile seven: a narrow catwalk over the Pacific that is fine in the dry and unnerving in rain. Rain is the real gatekeeper. Streams flash-flood fast enough to strand hikers between valleys for days — if Hanakāpīʻai is brown and pushy, you turn around, no debate. Winter swells also eat the beach and the trail gets greasier the wetter the season. Overnight camping permits (about US$35 a night) release 90 days out on the Hawaii DLNR site and sell out almost instantly; day access beyond Hanakāpīʻai without one is illegal. Access is via the Hāʻena State Park shuttle or pre-booked parking. Two to three days on trail; budget roughly £220 with permits, shuttle and food, plus whatever Kauai does to your wallet either side.