Ala’kai Swamp Hiking Tour – 8 miles roundtrip (4 miles one way) (moderate-hard)
Kauai’s Alaka’i wilderness is home of native birds and plants, many of them endangered and on the brink of extinction.It has been called the world’s highest swamp, and it is a wonderland of forested streams and sedge-dotted bogs. Much of it is nearly a mile high, a long, narrow plateau suspended among the mountains. Virtually impenetrable, Ala’kai Swamp Hiking tours can only be acceessable by hiking or by helicopter on days when the clouds are clear. The majority of island visitors and most residents have never seen it. At its eastern end is Wai‘ale‘ale, long proclaimed the wettest spot on Earth.
To the south, it falls away to Waimea Canyon, nicknamed “Grand Canyon of the Pacific.” On its northern flank, the Alaka‘i drains into the stunning, ridges and valleys of Hanalei, Lumaha’i and Wainiha valleys. And to the west, into the folded geography of a region known by the name, Na Pali, “the cliffs.” Many of the Alakai’s birds are endangered today, and many more are extinct.
For some of them, civilization has made most of the island uninhabitable, and only the Alaka‘i remains sufficiently remote and untouched for them to survive. Much of the Alaka‘i Swamp Hiking trail is a dense jungle. See more photos of our Hiking Kauai Tours