Between Hulopoe Bay and Manele Bay on Lanai, you can take an easy hike to see this vantage point of Sweetheart Rock. The lone rock is impressive standing at 80 feet in height.
There’s a Hawaiian legend about this rock. There was a Lanai warrior who fell in love with a young girl from Maui. Her name was Puu Pehe. He was so enamored by her beauty that he was afraid he would lose her. So he hid her away in a sea cave near the rock where she drowned. The young warrior was so distraught that he climbed to the top of the rock and buried her body at the top, then he leapt to his death.
Puupehe is a must see when you’re on Lanai. A great time of day to go there is about an hour or so before sunset as the red lava rocks are illuminated by the sun. We also suggest you enjoy a sunset picnic from this spot as well. In our opinion, it’s the best place to watch sunset on Lanai.
Sheila Beal
5 comments
having lived in hawaii for so long and never visited lanai…thanks for introducing puu pehe to us. great video clip. aloha, pua
Aloha Pua – I’m glad you liked the video. Hopefully you can see Puu Pehe for yourself the next time you’re in Hawaii.
How do you bury a body on top of a rock? I am thinking he buried her bones in a deep crevice on the rock, a common burial practice Hawaiians did back then.
We just get back from Maui we so the rock so beautiful,the legend said after he buried her he leapt the Gods take have mercy of him,and make him a Shark so he ‘ll watching Princess Puu Pehe and don’t let any body disturb her peace,after hear the story you have to kiss your lover I did it’s beautiful history =) \-/
I was born and raised on Lanai. And i now reside in the mainland. I am so used to being back home and i absolutely love everything about it. Especially being on Lanai. Although many people will say it is boring and has no malls and such. They are missing the total beauty of Lanai. I have herad many legends of sweetheart rock, knowing i grew up in Lanai. This past summer as a tribute to the gods my boyfriend and i decided to swim over to sweetheart rock and go up a fair amount and jump off while holding hands. It was great and something i would do again, but i wouldn’t recommend people to do this. It’s very dangerous and there is really a shark in the water.