13 Facts About Hilo

Hilo is home to the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corporation, one of the world's leading producers of macadamia nuts.

Around 1100 AD, the first Hilo inhabitants arrived, bringing with them Polynesian knowledge and traditions.

Hilo expanded as sugar plantations in the surrounding area created jobs and drew in many workers from Asia.

Breakwater across Hilo Bay was begun in the first decade of the 20th century and completed in 1929.

Hilo has a tropical rainforest climate, with substantial rainfall throughout the year.

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Hilo is served by Hilo International Airport, where Hawaiian Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines operate.

Oldest city in the Hawaiian archipelago, Hilo's economy was historically based on the sugar plantations of its surrounding areas, prior to their closure in the 1990s.

Main source of tourism in Hilo is the annual week-long Merrie Monarch Festival, the world's preeminent hula competition and festival, which brings in visitors and participants from all over the world.

Local orchid society hosts the largest and most comprehensive orchid show in the state, the annual Hilo Orchid Show, which has been presented since 1951 and draws visitors and entrants worldwide.

Hilo is home to Hawaii's only tsunami museum, mostly dedicated to the 1946 Pacific tsunami, and is notable for the banyan trees planted by Babe Ruth, Amelia Earhart and other celebrities.

Downtown Hilo is bounded approximately by the Wailuku River, Kamehameha Avenue, Ponahawai Street, and Kapiolani Street.

Hilo is home to most of the astronomical observatories on Mauna Kea as well as the ?Imiloa Planetarium and Museum.

Hilo referred to the District of Hilo when the Big Island was divided into six districts by the traditional moku land division.