This beach is located about 3 miles south of the southern tip of Hawaii. The most distinctive feature of this beach is its green sand. The green sand is created by a mineral called Olivine. Olivine is a silicate mineral containing iron and magnesium found on the Pu’u Mahana Sand Beach. A famous sand beach formed more than 49,000 years ago, southwest of the Mauna Loa volcano. The sea has eroded the volcanic ash around Papakolea, affecting the Olivine rock and giving the sand its green color.

This beach is surrounded by vast grasslands and is only accessible on foot, or by sturdy four-wheel drive vehicles.

Standing on top of Pu’u Mahana sandbank, you will feel like you are looking at a natural painting, painted by the color of the ocean and green sand. This wonderful landscape is created by rocks containing the mineral Olivine, captivating any visitor who comes here. If you want to get close to the coast, tourists need to climb a steep mountain.

In the early days, Papakolea was heavily impacted by volcanic eruptions, so the locals called it a volcanic field. This volcanic field has a lot of Olivine crystals. This is a silicate mineral, containing iron and magnesium. Therefore, Olivine stones have a shimmering appearance like tiny transparent green crystals. Because of the volcanic properties here, Olivine is also called “Hawaiian Diamond”.