Place of Refuge - Pu’uhonua o Honaunau – Big Island Attractions

Pu’uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park is one of the more interesting tourist sites on the Big Island. The name translates into Place of Refuge at Honaunau, and many just call it "Place of Refuge" for short.

The Place of Refuge park is a historical site that includes a sacred area, royal grounds with canoe landing, and a re-creation of a Hawaiian village. The Place of Refuge also has an interesting lava bed beach to explore.

• The Place of Refuge + Our Pictures
• Running Man
• Park Basics at Place of Refuge
• Don’t Forget the Lava Beach
• Conclusion

The Place of Refuge is one of my wife’s and my favorite Big Island attractions. The site is very scenic, and it sits on a a lava bed peninsula that is pretty interesting on its own.

We have included pictures here of the Place of Refuge that we have taken on our visits doing Big Island sightseeing, and we have links at the bottom of this article to other websites with pictures as well.

Also, at the bottom of this article are links to our other Hawaii articles including hotel reviews (we plan to continually add more).

We also got to say that we highly recommend the book Hawaii – The Big Island Revealed for anyone planning on going to Hawaii (the authors have a book for each island). It is by far the best Hawaii travel book, and it is the only book we take when we go (it’s about $11 at Amazon).

Historically, the Place of Refuge was a place of sanctuary where by those who had broken laws were given a chance to run for their lives – literally.

If they could make it to the Place of Refuge they would be pardoned for their crimes or taboos. If they didn’t make, well, they would be dead.

We did not see or hear this explained in a whole lot of detail, but in our imagination it something like the runner was given a 5 minute head-start as a group of hunters were ready to chase him down and kill him.

Pu’uhonua o Honaunau is not far off the main highway as you travel to the volcano from the Kona region (about 30 minutes from Kailua Kona), and we usually make a visit to the Place of Refuge as part of our trip down to the volcano.

The Place of Refuge is a National Park with a small fee to enter. It does not have much in terms of facilities – bathrooms, water fountain, and small visitor center selling books and videos, but it is definitely worth devoting an hour or so as you hit the other tourist spots in the area.

The Place of Refuge’s beachfront location is very scenic, but we also enjoy going out on the lava bed (bring real shoes – not sandals) to explore and see the waves as well.

There are tide pools that will occasionally hold colorful fish or the spare turtle (our photos are attached.)

It is also interesting to watch the ocean work its way through lava bed as the waves came in and out, moving through undergound tunnels and caverns to form fountains and receding pools.

The Place of Refuge, Pu’uhonua o Honuanau National Historical park, is definitely one of our favorite Big Island things to do. Unless you are really short on time, we would recommend stopping at the Place of Refuge on your way to the volcano.

Our other articles so far:

• Big Island Hotels and Resorts - Which Area to Stay?
• Hotel Review – Hapuna Beach Prince Resort – Big Island Hawaii
• Hotel Review – Royal Kona Resort – Big Island Hawaii

Other links with more info & photos:

• Pu’uhonua o Honuanau National Historical Park (Place of Refuge) - Official Site
• Wiki-Travel Site for Place of Refuge

(All photos in this article are my own and are protected by copyright as is the text.)