Rarely do geographic titles so convincingly live up to their names, but then comes Keauhou’s End of the World. A Mordoresque lava plain of jagged ʻaʻa rock crinkles to the deep blue coast, and then drops steeply into the ocean. To get here, drive all the way to the end of Aliʻi Dr and look for a trailhead to the water. It’s a short, rocky hike to the cliffs.
Sometimes waves crash like thunderheads on the rocks, sometimes the ocean is calm as a pond and, often, local teenagers jump off the cliffs into the water. It’s a lot of fun but is best not attempted unless you’re a strong swimmer and are with a group of friends.
The End of the World marked the end of an era. When Kamehameha the Great’s son Liholiho (Kamehameha II) was crowned king, the new monarch took major steps to abolish the rigid kapu, the taboo system that regulated daily life. So Liholiho took the then-drastic step of eating at a table with women. His cousin Chief Kekauokalani was incensed (or perhaps he coveted the crown, or maybe a bit of both) and challenged Liholiho to battle at the End of the World. In the resulting Battle of Kuamoʻo some 300 were killed, including Kekauokalani and his wife. The dead were interned in cairns on the lava field, Liholiho’s rule was firmly established, and the kapu system was broken.
