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This beautiful and colorful city; in Hawaiian its name means "Sheltered Bay", was likely settled by the early Hawaiians as early as the 12th century AD.
Today it extends for about 10 miles along the south eastern shore of the Island of Oahu and for about 4 miles inland into the foothills of the Koolau Mountains. It is a vital cross roads for trans-pacific shipping and air routes.
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The city has a population of some 400,000 and remains the only large city in the islands and its commercial, political and cultural center. The city-county, area is 597 square miles, which includes all of the island of Oahu plus 1,300 miles of the Pacific Islands National Wildlife Refuge.
In December 1941 the city and the adjacent Pearl Harbor naval-military area was subjected to a Japanese aerial bombardment.
Honolulu is the educational center of the state and is the site of the University of Hawaii in Manoa Valley. Founded in 1907, its renowned East-West Center, was established in 1960 for technical and cultural exchange between the peoples of Asia, the Pacific and the United States. The Kamehameha Schools were founded in Honolulu in 1887 specifically for children of Hawaiian descent.
For more details use the 'City Attractions' link opposite, or contact Hawaiian Holidays.
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| Honolulu, Oahu |
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| A Great Discovery |
Captain William Brown, from England, became its first western visitor when he navigated his frigate Butterworth through the reef into the bay in 1793; King Kamehameha I moved his royal court from nearby Waikiki to Honolulu in 1809 as the harbor was fast becoming an important center of trade. The Russians arrived in 1816, followed again by the British in 1843 and then by the French in 1849. Finally in 1850 King Kamehameha III declared it a city and the capital of the islands.
Chinatown is located north of downtown Honolulu. Walking through Chinatown you could easily believe that you were in Asia, the original inhabitants had been sugar plantation workers who first moved to this area in the 1860's. Today its narrow, colorful streets bustle with activity and are filled with art, antique shops, restaurants, temples, shrines, tattoo parlors and herbalists. For all its vivacity and color it's best not to be walking around after dark.
Eating Out in Honolulu is a delightful experience due to the multi-ethnic nature of its population and to the tremendous variety of fresh seafood. Explore a little, apart from the multitude of restaurants in fabulous tropical and ocean side settings, meals can also be obtained at very reasonable prices.
Lifestyle, Parks, The Outdoors. No article on Hawaii would be complete without illustrating a picture of Honolulu and its environs as a place in which you can really enjoy being in the open air. Where its people, meet, live and enjoy life in its many parks, beaches and gardens, thanks to its near perfect climate, which, tempered by fresh ocean trade winds, ensures it's never too hot or too cold. Plants and flowering trees are always in bloom and surrounding the city are its green mountains and the blue Pacific Ocean. Sunrise and sunset are beautiful times of the day and should be enjoyed for a quiet walk along a beach, by the canal, up to Diamond Head or in one of the lovely parks. At sunset, as the sun touches the ocean, if your lucky you, might see the "green flash". I've seen it but you have to watch a lot of sunsets.
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