Visiting Kilauea Volcano is one of the most scintillating and thrilling experience which remains in the memory for a long long to come. This very active volcano is located 30 miles southwest of Hilo and the opportunity of witnessing the primal process of creation and destruction make this place a major tourist attraction.
The volcano is part of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and is considered a very sacred place by the native Hawaiians and is considered to be the abode of Goddess Pele.
The park was founded in 1916 and encompasses 333,000 acres from the summit to the sea. It is a live proof of hundreds and thousands of years of volcanic activity, migration and evolution; processes that have converted a bare land from the sea into a haven for various complex and unique ecosystems as well as distinct Ancient Hawaiian culture.
In the park, Kilauea is the most active and Mauna Loa the most massive lava erupting beauties.
Climatic Condition & Weather System:
Given the fact the park is home to lava erupting mountains, it is very easy to presume that the weather at such a place must be surely very hot and sultry. But the most wonderful and unique feature of this place is that even though the island weather is unpredictable yet the weather conditions at the summit are varying. The local weather at Kilauea's summit which is 4000 feet in altitude varies daily. It may sometimes be rainy and chilly and the temperature also varies according to the elevation. The summit remains 12-15 degrees cooler than the sea level. The coastal plain at the end of Chain of Craters Road where the lava meets the sea is often hot, dry and windy with the possibility of passing showers.
Park Attractions:
The main attractions in the park are the eruptive sites that include the main caldera of Kilauea and a more active but remote vent known as the Puu Oo. The entry to the park is from the Hawaii Belt Road. The Chain of Craters is self-explanatory and leads past several craters from historic eruptions to the coast. It used to continue towards another entry point near the town of Kalapana but now it is covered by a lava flow.
Kilauea Volcano:
This volcano is sometimes also called "The World's Only Drive-in Volcano." On an average, 250,000-650,000 cubic yards of lava per day is produced here which is enough to resurface the 20-mile long, 2-lane road daily. The most beautiful aspect of this volcano is the meeting of the lava with the sea. One can only imagine this wondrous scene.
Outbound Activities in the National Park:
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park offers endless opportunities for great adventures in the Park. Over half of the park is designated wilderness and provides unusual hiking and camping opportunities. One can find 150 miles of hiking trails through volcanic craters, scalded deserts, and rain forests. Apart from this, the national park also features a museum, petroglyphs, a walk-in lava tube and most importantly two very much live fire erupting volcanoes; Maunaloa, which last erupted in 1984 and Kilauea which has been erupting since January 3rd, 1983.
International Recognition:
The park is rich in bio-diversity and the very uniqueness of this diversity has earned the park the proud position of the World Biosphere site; named as such by the UNESCO in 1980 and then in 1987 it was recognized as a World Heritage Site.
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