莫纳克亚山天文台

沿路的风景已经令人屏息，我喜欢那种有点苍凉的感觉。 很幸运遇到蓝得不像话的好天气，天文台闪闪发光，山上的景致令人心旷人怡。 走进天文世界更是印象深刻的体验。只是记得即使夏天也是很冷的，尤其太阳下山之后，不要受寒了！

The observatory at the visitors center is open in the evening and students from the university will conduct astronomy lessons and let you view through the high power telescopes. They have a gift shop and sell snacks and drinks. This is a good resting area if you will be hiking to the summit

It's like you're on another planet. I can't describe it, but it's a must-see. If you're in a group just rent a 4x4 and drive up there by yourself, don't go on one of the expensive tours. So beautiful but sooo cold. Seriously, I am from the Canadian prairies and I found it cold (although I think that day was particularly windy). You need long pants and a warm jacket to be out of your vehicle enjoying to views. We brought a picnic supper and ate it in the SUV while we waited for the sunset. Stake out your spot at the far end, away from the bathrooms, to be away from the throng of tour groups. The wait for the sunset is worth it, those pictures are my favorite from my Hawaii trip. Also consider waiting until the ranger politely asks you to descend the mountain rather than rushing down right after. You'll avoid the traffic and by the time you get down, everyone will have mostly had their fill on the telescopes and so the lines will be shorter.

A bucket list item for us for sure. It is stunning to be up 13,000+ feet. Being so far above the cloud layer is surreal, the sunset was pretty. We rented a 4 wheel drive from Harper's in Hilo-the only company that will let you take their vehicle up. Everything we read said we had to have 4 wheel to do it, but more about that in a minute. We did stop at the Visitor Information Station for about an hour. You will need it. It's around 9000 feet, and we felt weird for awhile. We live at around 2300 feet. The weird feeling passed, and we drove on up and felt ok after that, but you could feel it if you exerted yourself too much. We were prepared for cold with all our gear, so we were comfortable enough when we got tucked out of the wind by a building. At the time we visited, it was around 40 degrees with strong winds. The rangers make you leave 30 minutes after sunset, so you will not see stars here, but there is an excellent star gazing program back at the Information center that is free. There is a portion of the road that is gravel, but it is better than roads I drive on at home! (Asheville, NC) yes, it is very steep, but I felt the 4 wheel drive was unnecessary. Yes, you CAN burn out your brakes if you don't know to go down in low gear, and tap the brakes and then let them cool. You have to pay attention, but I saw vehicles that were not 4 wheel up there, and I felt confident we could have done without it. But, there is ONE MORE way to get up here if you can't bring your rental car due to contract restrictions- you can leave your car at the visitors center and hitch a ride up with someone else. We gave a really nice French couple their ride down after they had hitched up. So glad we did it. It's worth the effort.

Who would believe snow in Hawaii. The top of Mauna Kea is beautiful. Most of the year there is snow and in the winter there is skiing (if you are adventurous). The sun set is fantastic. you are above the clouds and the colors are all across the rainbow. Don't miss it.

I didn't make it to the top (no 4 wheel drive), but the visitor center is interesting. I enjoyed the ride across the island.

Get a 4 x 4 and drive off road all the way to the top at 4200 metres. It's freezing so wrap up warm to watch the sun go down. Then drive back down to the visitor centre for the best stargazing you are ever likely to see.

Really wanted to see this .booked it twice got cancelled. expensive excursion but looks amazing from brochure. must be a hit a miss thing.

Most amazing stars you have ever seen. The staff set up telescopes that are pointed towards celestial bodies of interest (e.g, venus, Mars, Jupiter). The staff are friendly, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable. But make sure to come warmly dressed!

As a Science Channel regular, I just had to visit in person what I saw many times on TV. I was not disappointed. The stop at the Observation Station was nice, and required to acclimate the body to the elevation. Great chance to buy stuff for the folks back home! Short movie was informative if dated. It should be noted that this trip should be part of a tour, as 4WD is important for safety, as many rentals have bit the dust on this trip! We went up in late August 2014, and even at this time it was very cold, but as we are from the Buffalo NY area, found it refreshing after the heat at sea level. My wife and I traveled up with a couple from Japan, and two gentlemen, one from Australia, and the other a US Sailor stationed in HI., so the company was varied and most interesting. Bring a good camera for there are great shots to be had. Once at the top, my old man lungs had to work hard in the thin air, but seeing the telescopes up close as well as the view of the Island made the resultant headache worth it. On the way down we stopped again at the Observation Station to warm up with a hot drink and to view the stars.

We drove up to the summit with some locals, which helps regarding info about the best time and the weather conditions the are suitable. Also many rental agencies forbid driving the rental cars up there. With decent visibility the view is spectacular and the visitors center is very informative.

This is a trip definitely worth making while visiting Hilo. The island is huge and takes awhile to drive completely around but this is one trip you should make time for. The views are absolutely breathtaking and interesting to see.

Loved the view of the stars, but not able to use outdoor telescopes due to 70 mph winds and 47 degrees. Video was good, but old and needs to be replaced. Would go back again under better conditions.

We went to have a look at the observatory, very interesting, but so cold. Bring warm cloth! I think you have to be a star buff to be thrilled, we didi look at the stars, Jupiter and another galaxy, but we will look at them from our beach in the South Hemisphere where the night sky is as good but the temperature is far more reasonable.

The view was incredible! However, we did have a bit of altitude reaction since all of us live at sea level. Should have been taking aspirin for a couple of days prior to our visit. The video at the information center was very informative.