USA Guide
Hawaii
Kalalau Trail
The lush valleys of the Na Pali coast, separated by knife-edge ridges of rock thousands of feet high but just a few feet thick, make Kauai one of the world's great hiking destinations. Although many of the best views (other than from a helicopter) are from the trails in Kokee State Park or boat trips out to sea, the Kalalau Trail along the shore is unforgettable. The full eleven miles to Kalalau Valley is arduous and gets progressively more dangerous; in places you have to scramble along a precipitous (and shadeless) wall of crumbly red rock.
However, the first two miles of the trail, to Hanakapiai Beach, are the most beautiful. They're steep but straightforward, passing through patches of dense vegetation where you clamber over the gnarled root systems of the splay-footed hala (pandanus) tree. From the beach, a further hour's arduous hike (off the main trail) leads inland to the natural amphitheater of the towering Hanakapiai Falls. It takes at least four and a half hours to get to the falls and back from the trailhead at Kee Beach, opposite the ten-mile marker at the end of the road. Hikers and campers doing anything more than a day-hike must obtain permits, costing $10 per person per night, from the State Parks Office (3060 Eiwa St, Lihue; 
808/274-3444).