Wailua Falls is a pretty famous waterfall on Kauai. If you’ve ever been to Kauai, you’ve probably been there. There is a viewpoint right off the road, so if you want to go see it, it’s very easy to jump out of the car and take a few pictures.
The first time I was in Kauai, that’s all we did. This time, I was with my sister who has spent a lot of time in Kauai, and she wanted to show us a better view. We ended up jumping over the stone fence and hiking down the side of the mountain to get down to the bottom of the walls, despite about 10 signs instructing us not to do that.
Local people on the island do it all the time, and I had seen people down there the last time I visited, I just didn’t know how to get there, so I wasn’t that worried about it. The hike was pretty steep though, and there were a few parts that were a little tricky, so if you are going to try it, make sure to wear good shoes and take your time.
The valley at the bottom was cool and green, with some really cool big rocks that were most likely brought here by aliens. Once we got down to the bottom we wound around the side of the riverbank back behind the falls. It was awesome to see such a big, powerful waterfall from the back, and we got a nice cool down from the hot day from the waterfall mist.
It only took us about 15 minutes to climb down (there are some ropes, but they are definitely old so be very careful) and a little longer to climb back up to the top.
We were walking back to the car when we saw some people coming back out from behind the fence the other way, so we went to check it out. You can walk along a little river to get to the top of the waterfall.
There are a few times you have to shinny across a fallen tree, but it’s not very dangerous until you get closer to the falls, where the water starts flowing faster. You definitely don’t want to fall into the water there, because it’s a long way down, so watch your step.
Wailua Falls was much more memorable my second trip, but if you aren’t into fence hopping, there are so many other waterfall hikes to do on Kauai, just pick one of those instead.
loveliness. 