Haiku, a very long staircase at a former secret military base in Hawaii

The United States officially entered World War II the day after the Japanese attack on the naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

El Caminito del Rey, a vertigo route along a pedestrian walkway attached to a gorge
The spectacular Breitachklamm, the deepest rock gorge in Central Europe

Between 1942 and 1943, the United States Navy built a secret radio station base to communicate with its ships at sea. The site chosen for its construction was the Haiku Valley on the island of Oahu, as it offered excellent natural protection and also allowed the use of the 850-meter peak of Pu'u Keahiakahoe as a point of transmission and reception of signals.

The problem was that between the base, at an altitude of 150 meters above sea level, and the summit of that peak, there was a difference in elevation of 700 meters. To cover the 1,400 meters separating the summit from the base, the Navy built a very long staircase consisting of 3,922 steps and some ramps. The staircase was built in 21 days. The walk between the base and the summit took about two hours. In the 1950s, the Navy dismantled the Haiku communications center and handed the base over to the Coast Guard.

In the mid-1950s, the original wooden staircase was replaced with a new one, consisting of 664 steps, each 2.13 meters long and 70 centimeters wide, and some ramps made of galvanized metal. In the 1970s, the Navy permanently abandoned the base, and the Coast Guard opened the Haiku Stairs to the public. They quickly became a major tourist attraction due to their location and the breathtaking views from the top, earning them the nickname "Stairway to Heaven." On April 9, 1981, the stairs appeared in episode 17 of the first season of the series "Magnum, P.I.", starring Tom Selleck, which made them world-famous and increased the influx of tourists.

In 1997, the Coast Guard base was closed and the facility was transferred to the city of Honolulu. Authorities invested $875,000 in repairing the stairs with the intention of opening them to the public in 2002, but problems soon arose. The excessive influx of hikers became unbearable for local residents, who complained to the city council about the accumulation of trash and other issues. Ultimately, the stairs remained closed, and access was deemed illegal. Despite this, some hikers continued to access the area, resulting in numerous legal problems for the violators.

In April 2024, the Honololu City Council approved a project to demolish the Haiku Stairs, with a budget of $2.6 million. Obviously, the decision didn't please everyone. The Friends of the Haiku Stairs Association has filed a lawsuit against the project. From their website, this association is requesting help to preserve these stairs, noting that "are an iconic landmark and historic monument that island residents have treasured for generations."

You can see a video of the Haiku Stairs here, published in 2020 by SladesOfGlory, showing a summary of the ascent to Pu'u Keahiakahoe:

In this other video published by JerryRigEverything in 2017 you can see some magnificent aerial views of that old military installation:

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Main photo: Jstan2000. A photo taken from the Haiku Stairs on December 27, 2016.