Mount ʻAlava, Mountain summit in National Park of American Samoa, US.
Mount 'Alava is a mountain summit in American Samoa National Park, rising 491 meters above sea level and surrounded by dense tropical rainforest. Multiple hiking paths lead through the forested landscape of the Eastern District.
A broadcast station was established on Mount ʻAlava in 1964, and the summit trail began as a dirt road built to give television transmitter crews access. The route was later improved for hikers. The aerial cable tramway from Utulei, which crossed more than a mile of Pago Pago Bay to the summit, is no longer running.
The summit is reached by the Mount Alava Trail, originally a dirt road built for the television transmitter established in 1964. The trail's 56 ladders and 783 steps are now used by hikers, and the observation platform draws visitors for views over Pago Pago Bay.
The trailhead sits at Fagasā Pass, on the ridge between Fagasā and Vaipito Valley above Pago Pago. The route began as a dirt road for the television transmitter and was later improved for hikers; it climbs 491 m in about three hours at a moderate pace. The path is steep, with 56 ladders and 783 steps, so expect wet, slippery ground in tropical rain.
The summit is the site of a broadcast station established in 1964. Until recently, an aerial cable tramway ran over a mile across Pago Pago Bay from the village of Utulei, giving direct access to the observation platform.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,860 contributors worldwide.