Ulupo Heiau State Historic Site, Ancient temple site in Kailua, Hawaii

Ulupō Heiau is an ancient Hawaiian temple site in Kailua, featuring a stone platform approximately 140 by 180 feet with walls rising to about 30 feet, built using traditional Hawaiian construction methods. The structure showcases how skilled workers layered stones without mortar to create a durable platform that has lasted centuries.

The site reached its peak importance around 1750 as a center of spiritual and political power in the region. After Maui chief Kahekili conquered Oahu in the 1780s, the temple fell out of use and was eventually abandoned as the new ruling powers shifted focus elsewhere.

The site served as a place of spiritual devotion, first honoring agriculture and later transformed into a space for warrior rituals under Chief Kuali'i in the late 1700s. This shift reflects how the community's connection to the location evolved with changing leadership and needs.

The site is accessible through an adjacent YMCA facility, making it easy to reach the ancient platform and explore the grounds. Visitors should wear comfortable shoes and bring water, as the location has limited shade and can get quite hot during the day.

Legend credits the menehune with carrying the stones to Ulupō Heiau, and some accounts say they came from Kualoa, more than 10 miles (16 km) away. The 140-by-180-foot platform, with outer walls up to 30 feet high, was probably begun as an agricultural heiau (mapele) fed by springs, before the warrior chief Kualiʻi may have converted it into a luakini heiau with an altar, an oracle tower (anuʻu), thatched hale and wooden kiʻi.