Akaka Falls, Mauna Kea and Waipio Valley on the Big Island. The Hana Coast and Iao Valley on Maui. Oahu’s Koolau Mountain Range. Halawa Valley on Molokai.

The votes have been tallied from our latest HAWAII Magazine Facebook Ohana Poll question: “What’s your favorite natural wonder of Hawaii?” And we’re ready to reveal your Top 5.

As with our past Facebook poll questions, hundreds of you voted. The final list of our readers’ favorite natural wonders of Hawaii ran the gamut from mountains, valleys and waterfalls to sea cliffs, beaches and coastlines on every Hawaiian Island, save for Kahoolawe and Niihau. Once again, we were very pleased that many of you also elected to share with other HAWAII Magazine Facebook fans some notes about why you made your choices.

A number of you even chose to answer the question—which we hoped would simply reveal specific natural wonders one could visit—in ways we never imagined.  For example, there were votes for the “aloha spirit” offered visitors by Hawaii’s residents, as well as Hawaii’s friendly population itself. Also among our Facebook ohana’s unexpected favorite natural wonders of Hawaii: the annual winter humpback whale migration to the Islands, rainbows, Jack Johnson and, for reader Mark Williamson, “the guava trees at my grandpa’s house in Hilo.”

Must be some awesome guava, Mark.

If you’d like to join in on our next poll and vote along with our growing Facebook fan page ohana, click here. Become a HAWAII Magazine Facebook fan and you’ll get our “Hawaii favorite” poll questions as soon as we post them, and also get instant updates on your Facebook wall when we post all of our daily HawaiiMagazine.com stories and features.

We'll be posting our next Ohana Poll question on HAWAII Magazine's Facebook fan page in the days ahead, so join soon if you haven’t yet.

Now prepare to be awed! Here’s the Top 5 countdown of our Facebook ohana’s favorite natural wonders of Hawaii:


The extinct volcanic tuff cone known as Diamond Head—and especially, its west-facing Waikiki Beach profile—is perhaps Hawaii’s most recognized natural landmark. British sailors arriving on Oahu in the 19th century gave the 150,000-year old monument the English name that would stick after mistaking calcite crystals lodged in its slopes for diamonds. Diamond Head's Hawaiian name is Leahi—a variant of the words lae (brow) and ahi (tuna), describing the famed silhouette's resemblance to the dorsal fin of a tuna. A 45-minute hike from the cone’s interior floor to its highest point overlooking Waikiki, Honolulu and Oahu’s entire south shore is one of the island’s most popular. Said Facebook ohana member Robert Lanham, “(Diamond Head is) a great landmark and a challenging hike with awesome views when you get to the top.” The world-renowned view from Kuhio Beach toward Leahi, enjoyed by millions more Waikiki visitors, isn’t half-bad either.




Check out these related HawaiiMagazine.com posts:
Your Top 5 favorite Hawaii snacks: Our HAWAII Magazine Facebook poll results
Top 5 favorite Hawaii parks: HAWAII Magazine Facebook poll results
Top 5 favorite hiking trails in the Islands: HAWAII Magazine Facebook poll results