Hilo, the largest town on the Island of Hawaii, also secures the title of being the wettest, receiving over 70 inches of rain a year. Hilo's tropical climate creates the perfect site for lush gardens and rain forests. The Wailuku River, the island's longest river, begins west of Hilo and empties into the Pacific Ocean at Hilo Bay. The river (waters of destruction) descends from 10,800 feet up on the mountain slopes of Mauna Kea, creating a series of rapids and gorgeous waterfalls. Hilo's Wailuku River State Park surrounds the lower reaches of the river and provides close-up views of Pe'epe'e Falls, a set of rapids called the Boiling Pots, and the beautiful 80 foot Rainbow Falls. Morning mist and sunshine add up to an ever-changing rainbow at the falls. A short trip from Hilo takes visitors to this popular stop on the Big Island. The falls area is also the sacred home of Hina, the Hawaiian goddess of the moon who dwells beneath Rainbow Falls.
   For more adventures, just upstream from Rainbow Falls visitors may visit the Boiling Pots about one mile on Pe'epe'e Falls Road. Pe'epe'e Falls, also known as the Boiling Pots, are in a section of the Wailuku River where lava from both Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea met. The river eroded a gorge through the two lava flows. Here lava formed near vertical columns in the river bed and when storm water boils up from the terraced pools, sightseers discover what's behind the name.

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