A Self Guided Walking Tour of Diamond Head

Today we decided to walk around Diamond Head, this time in a clockwise direction.

So, the following is a self guided tour complete with a few pictures…… enjoy.

From our Hotel, the Pacific Monarch you head east down Kuhio Ave.

At the end of Kuhio Ave. you come to Kapahulu Rd. you cross the road and turn left and head north.

You are now going around the outside of the Honolulu Zoo. At the next intersection turn right and follow the pathway till you come to Monsarrat Ave.

At Monsarrat Ave. turn left and cross the street. You’ll be right at Queen Kapiolani Gardens.

Follow Monsarrat up the hill towards Kapiolani Community College. You will now be walking through a residential area complete with shops and stores, gardens, etc.

Part way up you will pass by a couple of stone structures that were formally military gates built during the Second World War to protect the area as Diamond Head was a military installation.

Once you reach the crest of the hill you will be at Kapiolani Community College…… it’ s a great stop for bathroom break.

After you leave the College the road turns into Diamond Head Dr. and you walk past the entrance to Diamond Head State Park. This is where you enter Diamond Head to walk across the crater floor and climb the stairs and walkways to the top.

You are now about 1/2 way around and you start heading downhill around the back side of Diamond Head.

A little further along Diamond Head Dr. meets up with Kahala Dr. and you turn right to start heading back towards Waikiki.

About this point the road heads uphill a bit more before levelling out and you come to the first of two lookouts.

The second lookout has a Memorial to Amelia Earhart. It commemorates her 1935 flight where she was the first person to fly from Hawaii to the USA mainland.

These two lookouts are a great spot to watch the real surfers catch some waves…….. there are always quite a few in the water. They must really like to surf in this area because it is a heck of a walk down a very steep hill to get to the ocean.

Once past the lookouts you head downhill towards Waikiki. You’ll go by the Lighthouse and some pretty awesome and expensive homes.

At the bottom you can either head back through Kapiolani Park or take the beach walk back to the hotel.

The total distance around the base of Diamond Head is a walk of about  9.5 km’s.