What's with Rainbow Falls? Just above town, the Wailuku River pours over the lip of a lava cave into a wide green pool, and on a clear Hilo morning the mist throws a rainbow across the whole scene. Hawaiians call the place Waiānuenue — "rainbow seen in water" — and in the old stories the cave below was a dwelling place in Hawaiian tradition. Reach it early, before the tour vans, when the sun is low and the spray is bright, and you'll see exactly how the falls earned both their names. It is the easiest wonder to find in Hilo, and one of the loveliest in all Hawaiʻi.
Hilo's resilience was tested hard by the sea. Tsunamis in 1946 and again in 1960 struck Hilo Bay with terrible force and great loss of life, sweeping through the low downtown along the water. The city rebuilt — and rather than rebuild in harm's way, it deliberately turned the most exposed bayfront into the open green parkland and gardens you see today, a quiet buffer between the town and the water. That history is remembered, not hidden, at the Pacific Tsunami Museum downtown, and it helped give rise to the Pacific-wide warning systems that protect coastlines now.
Why People Visit Hilo
Hilo offers the most authentic, culturally rich side of Hawaiʻi Island — waterfalls, gardens, markets, and deep Hawaiian heritage, all in a relaxed bayfront town. Visitors come for the rainforest scenery and the easy access to volcanoes and coast, and stay for the unhurried, welcoming feel of a real town rather than a resort strip. From the morning rainbows at Waiānuenue to the gardens along the bay, it rewards a slow pace. It is green, genuine, and beautiful in every season on the bay.
