Pauahi Volcanic Crater — United States

About this spectacle

Pauahi Crater is one of the string of pit craters along the Chain of Craters Road in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island. Visitors peer down into a deep, steep-walled volcanic pit whose dark basaltic interior reveals layers of past lava flows frozen in time. The raw geometry of the crater — sheer walls dropping away into shadow — creates a stark, almost lunar atmosphere. Sparse vegetation clings to the crater rim, while the smell of sulfur occasionally drifts on the trade winds. The scale of the void beneath your feet communicates the elemental power of Hawaiian volcanism in a visceral, immediate way. Walking the crater rim offers shifting perspectives of light and shadow across the lava-stained walls, especially in the morning when low-angle sunlight illuminates the interior.

When to go

Year-round

Getting there

Nearest airport: ITO. Nearest city: Hilo.

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