Kaniakapupu Photos
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Kaniakapupu Palace, Oahu
In the old Hawaii, a heiau called Kaniakapupu was located here. It is believed that the heiau was used by kahuna (priests) skilled in practicing medicine, so it was a healing site, or heiau ho'ola. The site is also called Luakaha, meaning “place of relaxation.”
During the time when King Kamemehameha's warriors fought to unite the Hawaiian islands, the king rested his warriors here. The area surrounding the heiau was known for having shells. In the Hawaiian language, Kaniakapupu means “song of the land shells.”
Kamehameha III built a summer palace on this sacred heiau site. He named it after the heiau. The palace had one main room and a wrap-around porch. A separate structure housed a kitchen and there were several other thatched buildings, or hales.
A plaque at the palace ruin reads:
Kaniakapupu - Summer Palace of King Kamehameha III and his Queen Emma. Completed in 1845 it was the scene of entertainment of foreign celebrities and the feasting of chiefs and commoners. The greatest of these occasions was a luau attended by an estimated ten thousand people celebrating Hawaiian Restoration Day in 1847.
Kaniakapupu Overview
- Palace ruins in Nuuanu
- Heiau used to be located here
- Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Location: Nuuanu Pali Drive, Honolulu, HI Directions: The site is located on Nuuanu Pali Drive, about 300 feet mauka (toward the mountains) of the Board of Water Supply building. There is a trail that leads from the road to the ruins after about 300 feet (90 m).
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