Green Lake
NileGuide Expert Says:
One of the most unique places to visit in Puna.Address:
NileGuide Expert tip:
Visitors must be up for a walk, and a hike down a slope to the lake. If you want to hike up Green Mountain for the views, bring water and food, and a camera for it all. The strenuousness depends on whether you visit the lake or hike up Green Mountain.Description:
Green Lake is a very unique place to visit. True to its name, it's a deep green lake inside of an old volcano crater, surrounded by bamboo and other trees to jump off of into the seemingly endless lake. For years people could sneak around the fence and walk up, but it is now run by a local woman named Smiley who charges $5 a person to enter the property. Over the years Green Lake has served as a swimming hole, a hippie commune scattered with teepees and serves as home to a local market once a week where veggies, fruit, and eggs are sold. Visitors can swim in the lake, walk the grounds, and hike up Green Mountain for an awesome view of the coast and the active volcano. Urban legends says that Jacques Cousteau dove the lake once and couldn't find the bottom. We don't know if this is true, but one thing is certain, the lake feels bottomless.