Nuuanu Pali
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Nu‘uanu Pali is a section of the windward cliff (pali in Hawaiian) of the Ko‘olau mountain located at the head of Nu‘uanu Valley on the island of O‘ahu. Today, it offers one of the best panoramic views of the windward (northeast) coast of O‘ahu. A main highway (Hawaii State Highway 61) connecting Kailua/Kāne‘ohe with downtown Honolulu runs through tunnels bored into the cliffside.
The Nu‘uanu Pali State Wayside is a lookout above the tunnels where visitors are treated to a panoramic view of the O‘ahu's windward side with sweeping views of Kāne‘ohe, Kāne‘ohe Bay, and Kailua. It is also well-known for strong Trade winds that blow through the pass, forming a sort of natural wind tunnel.
History
The Nu‘uanu Pali was the site of one of the bloodiest battles in Hawaiian history, in which Kamehameha I conquered the island of the O‘ahu, bringing it under his rule. In 1795 Kamehameha I sailed from his home island of Hawai‘i with an army of 10,000 soldiers. After conquering the islands of Maui and Moloka‘i, he moved on to O‘ahu. The pivotal battle for the island occurred in Nu‘uanu Valley, where the defenders of O‘ahu, led by Kalanikupule, were driven back up into the valley where they were trapped above the cliff. Thousands of Kalanikupule's soldiers were driven off the edge of the cliff to their deaths 1,000 feet below.In 1898 a carriage road was built over the Nu‘uanu Pali to connect Windward O‘ahu with Honolulu. This road was later replaced by the Pali Highway and the Nu‘uanu Pali Tunnels in 1959.
Hawaiian folklore holds that one should never carry pork over Nu‘uanu Pali, especially at night. In olden days, motorists reported that their cars mysteriously stopped and would not start until the pork was removed from the car. Jimi Hendrix wrote a song with the title Pali Gap, a name he made up but presumably meant to refer to the Nu‘uanu Pali, which includes both a gap and a cliff (pali).
Nu‘uanu Pali Tunnels
The Nu‘uanu Pali Tunnels are a set of four highway tunnels (two in each direction) on the Pali Highway (Hawaii State Highway 61) which pass through the Nu‘uanu Pali. These tunnels serve as one of three trans-Ko‘olau routes between Honolulu (leeward O‘ahu) and the communities of windward O‘ahu.
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