Limahuli Garden: A living museum of Hawaiian flora and cultural preservation.
- Region: North Shore
- Exquisite botanical garden is situated in a 1,000-acre valley on Kauai’s North Shore.
- Before your tour, clean the soles of your footwear at the biosanitation station next to the Visitor Center.
- Bring a light rain jacket as rain showers are frequent in the area. Ponchos are available for purchase at the Visitor Center.
- Bring insect repellent as mosquitos can be bothersome.
- Sun protection is recommended.
- No drones, smoking, alcoholic beverages, animals or picknicking.
- Restrooms are available in a building near the Visitor Center.
- Address: 5-8291 Kuhio Hwy, Hanalei, HI 96714
- Map: Google Maps
- Phone: (808) 826-1053
- Website: ntbg.org/gardens/limahuli/
Limahuli Garden and Preserve is a renowned botanical garden situated in a 1,000-acre valley on the far North Shore of Kauai. With nearly 250 taxa of native plants and birds, Limahuli Garden is not only a place of exquisite natural beauty but also a center for conservation, research and education. Numerous archaeological complexes can also be found in the valley, evidence of an ancient Hawaiian civilization that thrived in this veritable Garden of Eden. Hawaiians lived in harmony in nature in this valley utilizing an environmentally-compatible resource management system known as Ahupua’a. The Ahupua’a System is a central tenet of the garden.
Both guided and self-guided tours are available at Limahuli Garden. The self-guided tours are the most popular choice, allowing visitors to walk the grounds at their own pace. Self-guided tours take about 45 minutes to an hour and a half, depending on how much time is spent at each of the garden’s 43 exhibits. Docents lead guided tours that last about two and a half hours.
Visitors to Limahuli Garden follow a path that leads to various exhibits on the grounds. Arrows point the way to the next exhibit. Most if not all of the exhibits have interpretive displays with information on the feature. A guidebook that is included in the tour has more information about numbered exhibits.
Read more about Limahuli Garden in our Spring 2024 Issue of Kauai Magazine.