Touring the Islands - Our concise guides The Islands Oahu Maui The Big Island Kohala Coast Kona Coast Kauai Lanai Molokai Big Island... Hotels Activities Restaurants
		Hawaii - The Big Island Straight, fast highways through rugged lava fields -- that's the look of much of the "big island" called Hawaii. After all, this is the youngest spot on Earth, home of an ongoing eruption of a volcano named Kilauea that started in 1983. Volcanoes National Park encompasses a quarter of a million acres, and its roads act as a kind of drive-through classroom dedicated to the awesome power of hot magma. Underground forces here have pushed up an island made of no fewer than five big mountains. Two of these -- Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa -- are 13,000-foot giants that wear high domes of snow every winter. Select a region to learn more The Big Island has two airports, one leeward and one windward. The Keahole Airport serves the dry, sunny Kona and Kohala districts. Most visitors come to this side of the island, where all the newer hotels and golf courses have been springing up for the past couple of decades -- many of them arising like miraculous oases on the stark lava fields. But this is also a historic area with the most beautifully preserved ancient sites in the state. The town of Kailua is known for sport fishing and for the annual Ironman Triathlon. Visitors like to explore the Kona coffee region with its many old farms and mills. Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea The windward Hilo Airport gets people to the rainy town of Hilo. Seventy or more years ago, Hilo was Honolulu's rival in size and commercial importance; its old downtown hasn't changed much since. The abundance of water makes everything lush and beautiful on this side of the island and it's a good area for tropical plants, whether in gardens or simply along the roadside of the stunning Hamakua coastline. Though it's twice the size of all the others put together, the "big island" contains only one-tenth of the state's population and as such offers plenty of widen-open spaces. This is an island to get out and explore -- by car and by foot -- especially if you are interested in the drama of planetary power or the haunting legacy of ancient Hawaii.   Kilauea Volcano The Big Island's rocky, volcanic coast line   ©1999 Insite2.com