Hiking the ʻAihualama Trail on Oʻahu
Distance: 3.0 miles / 4.8 km
The ʻAihualama Trail is often treated as a connector trail between Mānoa Falls and the large network of trails found throughout Tantalus, as opposed to a day hike on its own.
That being said, the distance above is only the roundtrip distance on the ʻAihualama Trail, and it does not include the 0.9 mile (1.4 km) one-way distance to reach the trailhead via Mānoa Falls.
Puʻu Kōnāhuanui
If you’re trying to hike to the summit of Puʻu Kōnāhuanui from Mānoa Valley, know that the total distance is 5.4 miles (8.7 km) each way, with an additional 1,200 ft. (366 m) of elevation gain compared to 4.1 miles (6.6 km) each way from the traditional Puʻu ʻŌhiʻa Trailhead.
Read My Separate Post: Puʻu Kōnāhuanui Ridge Trail
Mānoa Falls Trailhead Parking
Parking for the ʻAihualama Trail is located in the same parking area as the Mānoa Falls Trail at the very end of Mānoa Road.
There is a small fee to park here, but know that parking is illegal along the side of the short road prior to the paid parking area.
Google Maps Directions: Mānoa Falls Trailhead
Hiking the ʻAihualama Trail
Mānoa Falls Trail
The ʻAhiualama Trailhead is located at the very end of the Mānoa Falls Trail.
That said, I encourage you to check out my separate article if you’re interested in learning more about the 0.9-mile (1.4 km) hike to get there.
Read My Separate Post: Mānoa Falls Trail
ʻAihualama Trail
Once at Mānoa Falls, the ʻAihualama Trailhead will be found on the left-hand side just prior to the waterfall.
In all, the ʻAihualama Trail ascends 23 switchbacks, depending on how you count, from Mānoa Falls to the Pauoa Flats Trail on Tantalus.
I took these photos just after some heavy winter rain, but you should expect the ʻAihualama Trail to be very muddy at any time of the year.
From the end of the Mānoa Falls Trail to the Pauoa Flats Trail, the ʻAihualama Trail gains about 750 ft. (229 m) of elevation over the course of 1.5 miles (2.4 km).
ʻAihualama-Pauoa Flats Junction
The end of the ʻAihualama Trail is the Pauoa Flats Trail. That said, one of the popular destinations to hike to on Tantalus is the Pauoa Flats Bench, located to the right, less than a half-mile away from this junction.
If you have any interest in hiking some of the Tantalus Loop Trail or hiking to the beautiful Mānoa Cliff Restoration Area, I encourage you to use the map in the photo below or check out my separate article about the entire network of trails up on Tantalus.
Read My Separate Post: Tantalus Loop Trail
Pauoa Flats Bench (Puʻu Kōnāhuanui Ridge Trail)
As the saying goes, all Tantalus trails lead to K1.
While this is true regarding the ʻAihualama Trail, I highly recommend reading my separate post if you’d like to learn more about hiking to the top of the Koʻolau Mountain Range.
I say this because beginning from the bottom of Mānoa Valley wouldn’t be ideal, but the ʻAihualama Trail can make for a great return hike if you’re considering the Mānoa Middle Ridge to the Koʻolau Summit Trail (KST) and on to K1.
Read My Separate Post: Puʻu Kōnāhuanui Ridge Trail
Native Plants on the ʻAihualama Trail
The Mānoa Falls and the ʻAihualama Trail are not the best place to find native Hawaiian plants on Oʻahu because of their relatively low elevations in Hawaiʻi. However, the ʻAihualama Trail is keenly named after the Lama trees that can be found along trail, which is one of the more dominate native plants that you can find along the hike.
If you would like to learn more about tons of native Hawaiian plants from across the islands, I encourage you to check out my separate post linked below.
Read My Separate Post: Native Hawaiian Plant Guide
