As you arrive by plane, romance and beauty begin to unfold as Kauai, an island blanketed in lush tropical rain forest, climbs away from the sea with its cliffs piercing the azure and cerulean skies.
Exploring the outdoor treasures on Kauai are unlimited. Along the miles of sandy shore, every imaginable water sport is available. There are many fascinating daytrips, either by boat, by road, or by air. Visits to remote jungle covers, snorkeling cruises, and inland eco-adventures are offered by professional tour operators.
Scenic wonders include Waimea Canyon, Hanalei Valley, Kilauea Lighthouse and wildlife refuge, Koke‘e State Park, Fern Grotto, many stunning beaches and, for the courageous, Kalalau Valley.
Several major events take place on Kauai each year which include the Waimea Town Celebration in February; the Prince Albert Music Festival in June; the Kauai Mokihana Festival in September; and Koke'e Museum's Emalani Festival in October.
Kauai is known as the "Garden Island" due to its lush green landscape. With a land area of 552.3 square miles, Kauai ’s key towns are Kapa‘a and Lihu‘e. The county of Kauai includes the islands Ni‘ihau and uninhabited Lehua and Ka‘ula. The island of Ni‘ihau is privately owned and sometimes called the "Forbidden Island" since public access is allowed only with permission of the owners. Its land area is 69.5 square miles.
Kauai is the oldest of Hawai‘ian island and the town of Waimea was the site of the first landing by English explorer Captain James Cook in 1778 while sailing from Tahiti toward North America. While it has long been believed that Cook was the first European to set foot in the Islands, recent evidence has some historians claiming that Spanish sailors may have visited the Islands more than a century earlier.
The summit of Mount Wai‘ale‘ale - which translates as "rippling or overflowing water" - is among the wettest spots in the world with an average rainfall of 485 inches per year. By contrast, the average rainfall at Po‘ipu Beach is 35 inches per year.
In spite of the rainfall, Hollywood directors favor Kauai for its lush scenery and have used this as the backdrop for moviemaking. With weather that is moderate year around, average temperatures range from 70° to 81°F, several blockbuster hits were filmed there like Jurassic Park and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Important products are produced on Kauai like sugarcane, fruit, vegetables, taro and beef. The flower of Kauai is a green berry known as mokihana and Ni‘ihau's flower is a small shell called pupu. Purple is the color that symbolizes Kauai.
The residential population for the Kauai county by 2000 census was 58,463, broken out by ethnic groups as Caucasian (26.1%); Hawai‘ian/Part Hawai‘ian (23.3); Filipino (17.3); Japanese (12.1).
Kauai is home to the Pacific Missile Range Facility which supports a wide variety of training exercises and developmental tests in 42,000 square miles of sea and air space that is virtually encroachment free. The West Kauai Technology and Visitor Center houses high technology companies and offers interactive tours of Kauai.