Visiting Mauna kea was one of the top things I wanted to do during my visit to the Big Island. I mean where else can you go up a readily-accessible 14,000 ft. volcano? According to Wikipedia, if you consider the portion of the mountain that is under the ocean, Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain in the world. And standing on the tallest mountain in the world is a pretty amazing thing to check off your bucket list.

Most tours that take you to Mauna Kea are centered around a sunset experience, but having learned that Mauna kea is home to the world’s largest observatory for astronomy, I knew I had to do some nighttime stargazing (I mean its such an incredible opportunity don’t you think?)

After much research, I found a tour agency, known as Epic Tours that specializes in Mauna Kea stargazing experiences. The owner is an astro-photographer himself! We decided to choose Epic Tours 8 hour Ultimate Waterfall, Lava Cave and Stargazing experience. I loved this tour for the reason that you get the chance to see so much in just one day, which is always great when you’re short on time, or visiting for only a few days.

EUCALYPTUS TREE FOREST

We got picked up at 2:15pm in Kona, and made our way down to our first stop, a Eucalyptus Tree Forest in Big Islands second major city, Hilo. I’ve seen a small group of Eucalyptus trees while at the Ke’anae Arboretum in Maui, but this was the first time I saw a 10,000-acre long forest of Eucalyptus trees. After admiring these tall, gnarled, stripy-barked blue gum eucalyptus trees, we made our way down to our second stop, Akaka Falls.

AKAKA FALLS

Akaka Falls is a 442 ft. waterfall (which is twice the size of Niagara Falls to give you some perspective). The State park is a lush, serene jungle escape near Hilo. With a 0.4-mile loop, there are tons of photo opportunities as the paved trail brings you past green fern walls, bamboo groves, hanging vines, mini waterfalls and ultimately leads up to the impressive Akaka falls.

DINNER

We grabbed some dinner, at a local restaurant in Hilo called Wikifresh, that serves up Hawaiian style bowls, wraps or tacos with your choice of toppings. To give you some comparison, think of a Chipotle, just with a Hawaiian flare.

After dinner we stopped at Kaumana Caves, a massive 25-mile-long lava cave formed in 1881 by the eruption of Mauna Loa. The site was incredible, with vines, fems and roots hanging from the ceiling.

STARGAZING

Finally, (and most anticipated) we made our way up to Mauna Kea. Up and above the clouds, we got to watch stars dance over us. I’ve never seen the Milky way, and the stars shine so bright and close than I did at Mauna Kea. I truly don’t think I could ever feel so close to the universe again. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable about the constellations and legends. It was breathtaking to see so many stars all at once.

A visit to the Big Island is not complete without some serious stargazing. I mean what better place to do so than on a dormant volcano, 14, 000 ft above sea level? If you are considering this experience, could not recommend a better tour agency to book with than Epic Tours.