Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
POP 945
Like a weird mix of Wild West frontier town and hippie commune, Pahoa is the beating
original, eclectic heart of Puna. This ramshackle, ragamuffin town, with its raised
wooden sidewalks, peeling paint and unkempt bohemian edge, can easily capture your
heart. It's full of oddballs and eccentrics and genuine aloha.
LGBT PUNA
Along with hosting the island's biggest concentration of New Agers and organic
farmers, Puna is also the Big Island's gay capital. While there aren't queer bars, you
will find cruising and rainbow flags, plus gay-friendly places to stay, workshops and
gatherings. This laidback approach to sexual orientation is also extended to lesbi-
ans and bisexuals. All hotels we list in Puna are LGBT friendly.
Sights
Makuʻu Craft & Farmers Market
MARKET
(Hwy 130; 8am-2pm Sun)
Join the entire Puna
ʻohana
(family) at the Makuʻu Craft &
Farmers Market, which is more like a massive village party than a market with psychics,
wood carvings, massage, old junk, surfboard repair, orchids, organic honey, sarongs and
jewelry, photos of the Kalapana eruption and (imagine that) fruits and vegetables.
Morn-
ing cultural workshops
(9am) give way to live music through the afternoon. Don't miss
it.
Hot food includes Hawaiian, Samoan, Mexican and Thai cuisine, and more. It's loc-
ated on Hwy 130 between mile markers 7 and 8.
Pahoa Museum
MUSEUM
(
430-1573; 15-2931 Pahoa Village Rd; suggested donation $3; 11am-7pm)
This little
museum showcases Puna history and culture in all its splendid diversity, with a fair dose
of New Age theory thrown in for good measure. It exhibits local artists, historical arti-
facts, old maps and about anything else under the sun, and spearheads many local com-
munity projects. Donations are badly needed. Please note the official opening hours can
be pretty flexible.
Activities
