The Real Isla Nublar

I remember one of my very first blog posts where I joked about King Kong’s Skull Island being on Google Maps. It is on there as a bit of a joke, but of course it doesn’t actually exist in any shape or form, although scenes from the latest Kong movie were shot on location in Vietnam as well as Kualoa Ranch in Hawai'i. However, there is a fictional island that pretty much does exist: Jurassic Park’s Isla Nublar...

If you’re a big fan of Jurassic Park then you’ll no doubt remember one of the early scenes in the movie where Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, John Hammond, Ian Malcolm and Donald Gennaro touch down on Isla Nublar, landing at the bottom of an epic waterfall as they do before exiting and jumping into a jeep that climbs a jungle trail that leads them to their first dinosaur. It’s one of the most iconic scenes in the movie (an odd statement given that most scenes in Jurassic Park are iconic). These falls’ real name is Manawaiopuna, located on the island of Kauai in Hawai'i.

In a previous post, I talked about our trip to the amazing Kualoa Ranch on Oahu, Hawai'i (I realise you’re still due a post on some of the other movie sets we visited there…), where scenes including the gallimimus chase from the original were filmed, and which is also home to the Indominus Rex’s paddock from the latest movie. But most of the scenes from the original were actually shot on Kauai. And naturally, in true Jurassic Park-fan style, we spent a few days there.

Just when we thought the South Island in New Zealand had raised the bar impossibly high in terms of epicness, along came Kauai. Its rugged, lush green mountains, sky-scraping palm trees, red rock valleys, and its distinct lack of people, make you feel like you’re on the real Isla Nublar. And our first full day there saw us visit the Manawaiopuna Falls, more commonly and more awesomely known as Jurassic Falls.

We headed over to the Island Helicopters' heliport near the airport, where the shop is filled with merchandise which sports their very own Jurassic Falls logo (it’s pretty neat), and posters of the much-hated Jurassic Park 3 here and there (not so neat). Neither of us had ever been in a helicopter before, so you can imagine the fear of walking under the thundering propellers as we climbed inside. Once inside, though, it was a little cramped as there were four other people, but it was all good and they were a lovely family. When our seat belts were tightened and the doors were closed, the earth just fell away from beneath us as we swiftly took to the sky, making our way south towards Hanapepe Valley.

Scooch over, Jeff!

The other passengers weren't very chatty

I can’t really remember much of the island before what came next. Perhaps that’s because I couldn’t quite believe what was unravelling before my eyes: the bright green slopes of Hanapepe Valley clad in thick tropical forest. The chopper descended deep inside where it took soft, slow turns as we made for our only landing during the ride. And that’s when the pilot stopped talking and played a very familiar tune over the headsets – the epic yet gentle Jurassic Park main score, which we're not ashamed to admit brought tears to our eyes. Yes, this is the exact same valley the characters fly through in the beginning of the movie as they make their way down towards the helipad at Jurassic Falls.

When the valley walls seemingly parted for us, we were greeted with the glorious, majestic sight that was Jurassic Falls: 400-feet in height, its water falling somewhat modestly into the pool below which sits in a narrow valley. The chopper landed, and we just couldn’t wait to get out, though we gladly waited for the ominous blur of the overhead blades to stop. When we exited, already wearing plastic sheaths over our feet (by way of protecting the privately-owned area from any bacteria we might carry in), we eagerly made our way through the small valley towards the falls, wide-eyed and slack-jawed. Then we came upon it; a towering natural structure of endless power and unmatched beauty, as epic as you'd expect it to be, with the blinding sun spilling over the precipice all the way up at the top. 

Hanapepe Valley

Jurassic Falls

Scene from the movie

As you can see in the picture below, the helipad from the movie is no longer intact. However, the pilot pointed out a mound of rocks that sit just below the pool at the top of the river – into which water from the pool barely flows – which just so happens to be debris from said-helipad. Making our way back to the helicopter, we struggled to tear ourselves away from the falls, nor could we peel our gaze from the stunning sites in the opposite direction: sharp, rugged mountains that tower above the valley. Not only that, we were walking on the same jungle path the gas jeeps take after collecting the InGen helicopter’s passengers in the movie.

Like the dinosaurs, the helipad didn't survive

At least we didn't land on this particular helipad...

After getting back in the helicopter, we took to the air once again where we started a full aerial tour of the rest of Kauai, though we pretty much remained awe-struck from the Jurassic Falls experience the entire time. That said, there’s no denying the raw beauty of this glorious island. Like I said, it’s the real Isla Nublar. That, and the Jurassic Park experience hadn’t ended with the falls. The pilot took us to the wettest spot on Earth: Mount Waialeale. Its peak was at the time shrouded entirely in thick cloud. But down in the valley at its feet is where the tyrannosaurus rex paddock scenes were filmed, which I believe is known as Blue Hole and can be accessed only by foot. Extreme hiking that is, given its location deep in the island’s forestry and mountainous interior.

Mount Waialeale - the wettest spot on Earth

Now we know why it rained so much when the Rex attacked

We also flew up to and beyond the northern coastline known as Na Pali coast. This skyline view is perhaps the most majestic of all. The coastal waters here rival any we'd seen so far and the sloping, jagged peaks looked pretty familiar too. This is the face of Isla Nublar, both when Hammond’s chopper approaches in the original, and again in Jurassic World when the ferry arrives. But it also cheekily served as the second island, Isla Sorna (aka Site B), when Ian Malcolm and co. arrive by boat in The Lost World: Jurassic Park.

Jurassic Park 1993

The Lost World: Jurassic Park 1997

Jurassic World 2015

The Jurassic Falls Landing Tour was an unforgettable experience, and perhaps the most incredible thing about it was just how exclusive it was. Island Helicopters remain the only such tour company on Kauai to land at the Jurassic Falls, and have also served the movies themselves over the years. And in addition to everything I’ve mentioned so far, we also saw dozens of other lush waterfalls, gorgeous green valleys and dense rainforests and more during our eighty-minute long aerial tour of Kauai. So to stop me from waffling on and on – and I could quite easily just keep on going – just check out some of the awesome pictures below.

I said I wouldn’t talk any further, but actually, I’ve not even gotten to the rest of the island we enjoyed from ground level yet. But don’t worry – it’s all in the next post. As for this experience, as you can tell it was priceless. Or should I say spared no expense...