On the green slopes of Kohala Mountain , at the northern tip of the Big Island, traditional plantation towns such as HAWI survive virtually unchanged - run-down in an appealing sort of way, the all-purpose stores still floored with creaking planks. Call in at the spacious Bamboo Restaurant and Bar (tel 808/889-5555) to enjoy one of the friendliest and most Hawaiian restaurants in the state.

Polulu Valley , where North Kohala's main artery, Hwy-270, comes to a dead end, is the last of the chain of inaccessible valleys, and for the moment is every bit as pristine as Waipio. The fear of tsunami , which led the Hawaiians to abandon these once densely populated valleys, is probably their best defense against the rapacity of the developers.

North Kohala

• North Kohala

Hawaii cities


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