Honolulu
Mauna Ala, the Royal Mausoleum
The burial place of the Kamehameha and Kalakaua royal families, in a small walled ground in Nuuanu.
Why go
It is the one piece of the Kingdom that was never ceded, and the Hawaiian flag over it has never been lowered.
The catch
Weekdays only, and it is sacred ground rather than an attraction. Quiet clothes, quiet voices, and the chapel is not always open.
- How long
- 30-45 min
- With children
- Not really
- Effort
- Easy
- Cost
- Free
- Parking
- Easy
Before you go
- Closed Sunday and Saturday
- Rarely crowded
Getting there
Driving times on real roads, from the same data the trip planner routes on — not straight-line distance.
| From Waikīkī | 13 min | 5.4 miles |
|---|---|---|
| From HNL airport | 31 min | 13.3 miles |
| From Downtown Honolulu | 6 min | 2.2 miles |
| From Ala Moana | 9 min | 3.4 miles |
Add traffic. These are free-flowing times, and the H1 through town at eight in the morning is not free-flowing.
More on Mauna Ala, the Royal Mausoleum: Wikipedia · OpenStreetMap
Hours, fees and access rules have not been checked against a primary source for this entry yet. Confirm before you build a day around it.
See it on the map Build a trip around it
What else is close
Nearest by road, which is not the same as nearest on a map — and not the same as sharing a region either.
- Kapena Falls1 min awayA small fall and pool in Nuuanu, five minutes from the car and ten from downtown.
- Lili‘uokalani Botanical Garden2 min awayA small garden of native Hawaiian plants on land the Queen left to the city.
- Foster Botanical Garden3 min awayThe oldest garden on the island, in the middle of downtown, full of trees nothing else here has.
- Queen Emma Summer Palace3 min awayThe small wooden retreat in Nuuanu that Queen Emma used to escape the heat of town.
- Punchbowl, National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific4 min awayA cemetery inside an extinct crater above downtown, for the Pacific war dead.
- Capitol Modern5 min awayThe state art museum, in a 1920s building beside the capitol, free to walk into.