Aloha Loop - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 234

are now dotted with cappuccino shops. But vintage clapboard buildings and weathered
Chinese storefronts still adorn this tropical town.
With over 120 inches of rainfall per year, Hilo is not only the wettest city in America,
butavirtualgreenhouseforsuchbotanicalbeautiesastorchgingers,gardenias,andorchids
(some 30,000 types of which flourish on this part of the island). Many of the town's gar-
dens and nurseries are open to the public, including the Nani Mau Gardens, which boasts
the island's largest collection of orchids, and the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden.
Banyan Drive—named for the multi-trunked trees that line the road, each one of
them planted by a different American celebrity during the 1930s—skirts the edge of Wai-
akea Peninsula before reaching Liliuokalani Gardens. A footbridge leads from this serene
Japanese-style haven to Coconut Island, a palm-fringed hideaway that is perfect for pic-
nicking. You can take a dip here, too, but the best place for swimming and surfing is at the
black sand beach in Richardson's Ocean Park, just to the east of town.
Traveling north on Rte. 19 (the Bayfront Highway), turn inland—mauka, as the locals
say—on Waianenue Avenue for a detour to Wailuku River State Park. The park's main
drawisRainbowFalls,asightthatbecomesdownrightdazzlingafterheavyrains,whenthe
spray shimmers with vivid hues. Farther upstream, the water pours into a series of pools
with such turbulence that they have been dubbed the Boiling Pots.
2. Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden
Back on Rte. 19 (more commonly known as Hawaii Belt Road), continue north along the
Hamakua Coast. At Papaikou, turn east toward the sea—makai, in common parlance—and
follow Onomea Scenic Drive to the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden.
This 17-acre preserve features more than 2,000 species of plants—a collection that is
believed to be the world's largest assortment of tropical plants growing in a natural envir-
onment. Numerous trails throughout the garden invite visitors to meander past preening
parrots, squawking cockatoos, hidden waterfalls, and hushed lily ponds.
3. Akaka Falls State Park
AtHonomufollowRte.220inlandpastdensefieldsofsugarcanetoAkakaFallsStatePark.
A pleasant 0.4-mile uphill hike will take you through a lush rain forest filled with wild
orchids, bamboo groves, and draping ferns. Continue along the paved footpath and you'll
first see 100-foot Kahuna Falls, a prelude of what is to come. Follow the loop around the