3 Best Sights in Lanai City, Lanai

This preternatural plateau is scattered with boulders of different sizes, shapes, and colors, the products of a million years of wind erosion. Time your visit for sunset, when the rocks begin to glow—from rich red to purple—and the fiery globe sinks to the horizon. Magnificent views of the Pacific Ocean, Molokai, and, on clear days, Oahu, provide the perfect backdrop for photographs.

The ancient Hawaiians shunned Lanai for hundreds of years, believing the island was the inviolable home of spirits. Standing beside the oxide-red rock spires of this strange raw landscape, you might be tempted to believe the same. This lunar savanna still has a decidedly eerie edge, but the shadows disappearing on the horizon are those of mouflon sheep and axis deer, not the fearsome spirits of lore. According to tradition, Kawelo, a Hawaiian priest, kept a perpetual fire burning on an altar here, in sight of the island of Molokai. As long as the fire burned, prosperity was assured for the people of Lanai. Kawelo was killed by a rival priest on Molokai, and the fire went out. "Keahiakawelo" means the "fire of Kawelo." 

This sanctuary near Lanai’s airport is a popular destination for locals and visitors (including day trippers) alike. For a small, optional donation you can while away the afternoon surrounded by the sanctuary's more than 600 cats—indulging in cuddles and giving out treats. All of the felines in the visitation areas are island rescues and are spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and mostly socialized. For those who fall in love and want to adopt, the sanctuary can help facilitate the process.

At this small and carefully arranged museum, displays of plantation-era clothing and tools, ranch memorabilia, old maps, precious feather lei, poi pounders, photographs, family portraits, and other artifacts and memorabilia give you insight on the history of the island and its people. Postcards, maps, books, and pamphlets are for sale. The friendly staff can provide information on and directions to the island's historical sites, making this the best place to start your explorations. The Heritage Center's Lanai Guide app is a trove of information—both practical and historical—on the island's sites.