Take a morning flight to Hilo, arrive prior to 2:30pm, meet our tour guide at Hilo airport. Join in Mauna Kea summit tour, take a specialized four-wheel drive tourist car, gallop on the famous Saddle Road, enjoy beautiful scenery of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. Passed through a tropical rain forest, get to a new land, several dormant craters scatterred, looks like the surface of the moon if overlooked from the sky. Arrive an altitude of 2800 meters, take a stop at The Onizuka Visitor Center, take a moment to adapt to high altitudes, and put on hooded parkas and gloves provided by us.
Starting from the visitor center, the ascending road only be accessible by four-wheel-drive vehicles. Driving on the gravel road for about half an hour, we reach the summit just 30 minutes before sunset. The highest mountain in Hawaii, Mauna Kea covered with snow in winter months, dwelled 13 observatories with highest astronomy technology by 11 countries on earth. Your tour guide will take you to the sunset observation deck; the sea of ??clouds is waiting underneath you. As the night falls from the east, don't miss the best sunset at the west (If the weather on the summit becomes too cold, the gravel road might freeze, will then be temporarily closed; we will take a short hike to a peak for sunset view near the visitor center)
After the day and night alternation, we have to leave the summit, descend to the stargazing spot near the visitor center. Where the prepared dinner will be served, while wait for the night fall, and preparation of the telescope. Enjoy the pure starry night sky, look for the Milky Way. When everyone is immersed in the beautiful scenery, the professional astronomical stargazing telescope has been setup for everyone to use. On the other side, the tour guide also prepared professional cameras for everyone to take photos with the galaxy. Wrap up and leave before the cold invades thru the parkas, return to Hilo, and arrive at the hotel at ~ 10pm.
Hotel: Grand Naniloa Double Tree
