Ahu'ena Heiau

Ahuʻena Heiau stands at Kamakahonu, at the north end of Kailua Bay in Kailua-Kona. It was the personal heiau, or place of worship, of Kamehameha I, and Kamakahonu was his last residence. Kamehameha I had the heiau restored and met there in secret council with his advisors and his heir, Liholiho, and during a famine in Kona it was rededicated to Lono, god of agriculture and prosperity. Kamakahonu is also where the kapu system was ended and where the first Christian missionaries landed. The original buildings are gone; the structures here today are reconstructions, and the heiau was rebuilt under the direction of the Bishop Museum's Department of Anthropology. Ahuʻena Heiau Inc., a nonprofit, maintains the Kamakahonu National Historic Landmark. The Kailua wharf is nearby, and Kamakahonu Beach, a white sand beach next to Kailua Pier, has no on-site parking. The heiau is a place of worship, so view it with respect and leave the stones as they are.