National Geographic Special - The World\'s Most Beautiful Places

na pali

coast

43 RIVERS & SHORES

KAUAI, HAWAII

Not for nothing did the coast of northwest Kauai

feature in the movie Jurassic Park. The region’s

vegetation-swathed and deeply fissured Na Pali

clifs, which plunge thousands of feet to pristine

and secluded beaches, look like a strange, prehis-

toric world. The clifs have been formed by a twin

assault from the incessant pounding of waves

and the swift-flowing streams—fed by 460 inches

(1,200 cm) of rainfall a year—that carve deep

clefts and valleys as they crash to the sea from

the island’s precipitous interior.

DON’T MISS

View the clifs, seabirds, and marine life (dolphins, turtles,

and monk seals, plus whales from December through April)

on a boat trip or by walking to Hanakapi’ai Beach (4 mi/

6 km) or hiking the demanding Kalalau Trail (22 mi/35 km

round-trip).

Fast-flowing streams and waterfalls (left) helped carve the

steep chasms and fissures of the Na Pali coast (above).