Honolulu, Hawaii

Honolulu, located along the southeast coast of the island of O'ahu is the capital and the largest community of the U.S. State of Hawaii. The name Honolulu has been derived from the Hawaiian language, which means 'place of shelter'. Although the discovery of the City & County of Honolulu remains uncertain, according to the oral history and modern archeology, it was founded in 1100 A.D.

The economic and tourist boom enhanced the importance of the city and at present Honolulu has grown to a modern city with numerous high-rise buildings. The city known as the most important shipping point in Hawaii is governed by a Board of Supervisors and administered under a mayor-council system of governance. Regarded as one of the largest municipal governments in the United States, Honolulu can only be accessed through boat or plane, as direct connection by road has not become a reality here.

Area & Location: Honolulu, which covers 600 sq. miles of the country, is located at approximately 158 degrees longitude west and 21.5 degrees latitude north. It lies approximately 2,200 miles from North America. The county includes hundreds of islets and reefs that extend it to 2,000 miles beyond Niihau to Kure Atoll. The city, which has a density of 1,699 sq. km has a population of 377,260.

Economy: Although Honolulu's economic strength mostly lies with the tourism sector, it also flourished with the sandalwood export and by acting as the supply port for whalers. Sugar, pineapples, light manufacturing, tourism and defense installations are its other economic mainstays.

Attractions: The Honolulu International Airport (HNL) standing as the principal aviation gateway to the state of Hawaii brings millions of tourists to the Islands. Waikiki is the center of the tourism industry in Hawaii, with umpteen numbers of resorts like the Hilton Hawaiian Village, the Hyatt Regency Waikiki, and the Sheraton Waikiki and many historic hotels dating back to the early 20th century. Waikiki Beach the shoreline facing Waikiki is one of the best-known beaches in the world and attracts maximum tourists.

The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, which is the largest museum in Hawaii and home to the world's largest collection of Polynesian cultural and scientific artifacts, is another tourist-attracted place in Honolulu. The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, a cemetery located in the city that serves a memorial to the men and women who have dedicated their lives in the U.S. Armed Forces also draws millions from far and wide. The Lyon Arboretum, a 200-acre botanical garden managed by the University of Hawaii, diamond Head the 200,000-year-old volcanic cones located on the coast east of Waikiki and Honolulu Academy of Arts the largest private presenter of visual arts programs that possess a permanent collection of over 40,000 works of art from cultures around the world are the other three sites that fascinates the tourists.