What is Diamond Head?
Diamond Head is a geological feature on the Hawaiian island of Oahu which has become famous, thanks to its proximity to the city of Honolulu. The distinctive profile of Diamond Head appears in many postcards from Oahu’s famous Waikiki Beach, and it is a popular tourist destination. Many visitors to Oahu like to set aside a morning to hike Diamond Head, as the view from the top is said to be quite incredible. Like many of Hawaii’s distinctive features, Diamond Head is volcanic in origin. This famous Hawaiian landmark is part of a larger network of volcanic cones and vents. Diamond Head itself is totally dormant, and therefore safe to hike; in fact the volcano is so safe that the United States military actually established Fort Rutger inside the volcano’s walls. The crater also houses an old Hawaiian burial ground. The name “Diamond Head” came to this dormant volcano in the 19th century, when British sailors mistook the glittering calcite in the soil for diamonds. The Hawaiian name for t
Look at any picture of Waikiki and you will notice a large hill in the distance … that my friends is Diamond Head. That hill is actually the remnants of an ancient volcano and the lookout is on the highest peak of the rim. It is still visibly recognisable as a crater once you get inside the walls via a tunnel cut through the rock. The Federal Govt purchased DIAMOND HEAD in 1904 and work was started in 1908 for military purposes. A tunnel was cut through the north wall and gun emplacements were constructed on the rim. DIAMOND HEAD was prepared as a defense post but in actual fact, no artillery was ever fired in an act of war. The trail to the summit was built in 1908 and mules were used to haul construction materials to the summit. The modern day entrance tunnel to the crater was built in the 1940’s. How to get to Diamond Head. If you have a car just drive toward Diamond Head on Kalakaua Avenue, left at Monsarrat Avenue which becomes Diamond Head Road.You can’t miss the sign to the en
Diamond Head is an extinct volcano. You can see it from Waikiki Beach and it’s one of the most famous Hawaiian landmarks. It’s been in dozens of movies and television shows. Even if you think you haven’t seen it, unless you’ve been on Mars your entire life, you probably have. The volcano gets its name because there are supposedly shiny rocks there that people thought were diamonds. There are no diamonds. We didn’t see any shiny rocks on our hike. Diamond Head was used as a lookout in World War II but there was an artillery post there starting around World War I. The trail that you follow was put in place as part of the Pacific Defense Network. Our Experience We arrived at the foot of Diamond Head around 3:00 in the afternoon. Most people would recommend that you show up early in the morning to avoid the heat. It really didn’t seem that warm although the sun was beating down. With some sunscreen and a drink of water, we were off! We were told to allow at least an hour and a half to clim
