Puna

Puna is a flat lava promontory southeast of Hilo. The southern coastline is a beautiful sweep of coconut trees and forest with the Pacific waves pounding on black lava. Whole towns have disappeared off the map in Puna in recent times due to lava flow. Some former oceanfront beach homes find themselves looking out over a kilometer of black lava to the sea.

I rushed through Puna in a ½ day on the way to see the lava sea-entry. I think it would be an interesting place to stay and explore for a couple of days. It would be a good place to rent a bike and explore the coastline as a slower pace. Lava Tree State Monument Close to Pahoa town is the Lava Tree State Monument. An eerie ‘lava forest’ record of a forest destroyed by a lava flow. The lava flowed around the tree trunks and cooled in the shape of the tree. The trees then carbonized leaving hollow lava stumps behind. It sounds more interesting than it actually is.
	Lava Tree State Monument


The Puna Coastline
Going south highway 137 follows the pacific surf and there are several black lava beaches. It looks very unsafe for swimming with waves pounding the black lava rocks, however it's possible to swim at Ahalanui Beach Park – a thermally heated lava rock swimming pool just next to the Pacific Ocean surf.

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