Hawaiian Volcanoes Lava Trek

Hilo · United States

Moderate4 daysOceania~£500 est.

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Overview

Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park is the rawest geology lesson on Earth: Kilauea has built and rebuilt this corner of the Big Island within living memory, and when the summit is active the Halema'uma'u lava lake glows from the crater-rim overlooks after dark. The essential walk is the Kilauea Iki trail -- down through tree-fern rainforest ringing with honeycreepers, then straight across the hardened lava lake of the 1959 eruption, still steaming through its cracks, beneath the cinder cone whose fountains once reached 580 metres. Add the Nahuku (Thurston) lava tube, then drive the Chain of Craters Road 1,100 metres down through decades of flows to the Holei Sea Arch, where the island meets the Pacific in black cliffs. Eruptions come and go -- check the USGS and park status pages rather than assuming visible lava -- and volcanic smog can close overlooks, which anyone with respiratory issues should take seriously. The summit sits at 1,200 wet, cool metres, so bring a shell. Four days from Hilo runs about 500 pounds with a hire car; the park pass lasts a week.