Private Jungle Ridge Trail / Mt. Wai’ale’ale Views

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$15

This Gentle Kauai Hiking Trail is a Nature Lover's Dream!

One might imagine that this lush trail originally got its name from native Hawaiians gathering and utilizing natural resources from the area. The word kuilau (koo-E-lau) means “to string together leaves or grass.” Plant fibers were used for everything from thatching roofs (pili grass huts) to making large sails for ocean voyaging canoes (from the hala [tree] leaf).

Start off with a quick stop at the roadside overlook to observe ‘O’paeka’a Falls. Next drive deeper into the island’s verdant trail head. Your Kauai hiking tour begins as a gentle climb up a wide, well-maintained trail. The trail is lined with impressive Sydney blue gum trees (Eucalyptus saligna), which can grow over 150 feet tall. Also the occasional smatterings of albizia trees, massive in girth and height.

As you & your guide make your way higher, views of several mountain ranges begin to emerge. On overcast days, you’ll still be rewarded with densely green views of the heavily foliated gulches that dominate the foreground. Abundant native and introduced plant species offer much to discover. These plants include wild orchids, ‘ohi’a lehua blossoms, hala and the la’i or ti plant. Ti plant is popular material for making hula skirts along with many other uses.

At the turnaround point, there is a large open area with covered picnic tables and expansive views of Kahili Mountain to the south, Wai’ale’ale Mountain and Mount Kawi to the west and the Makaleha Mountains to the north.

Back at the arboretum, you’ll take a short stroll in an area dense with the widely popular, often photographed, “rainbow eucalyptus” trees (Eucalyptus deglupta). Time permitting, you’ll have the option of taking a quick dip in a cool mountain stream and/or walking up a small hill to once again look towards the majestic Wai’ale’ale Summit. Mt. Wai’ale’ale is statistically one of the wettest places on earth averaging over 450 inches of rainfall annually,  subsequently fully or partially concealed by clouds much of the time.