Fodor's Expert Review Maniniholo Dry Cave

Hanalei, Haena, and West Cave
Free

Across the highway from Haena Beach Park is Maniniholo Dry Cave, a place steeped in legends. You can walk for a few minutes through a 30-yard-long cave, which darkens and becomes more claustrophobic as you glide across its sandy floor, hearing the drips down the walls and wondering at its past. Legend has it that Maniniholo was the head fisherman of the Menehune—Kauai's quasi-mythical first inhabitants. After gathering too much food to carry, Maniniholo's men stored the excess under a cliff overnight. When he returned in the morning, the food had vanished, and he blamed the imps living in the cliff's cracks. He and his men dug into the cliff to find and destroy the imps, leaving behind the dry cave.

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Haena, Hawaii  96714, USA

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