Wender·Vista
Manoa Falls Oahu Ceramic Art Tile
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileHawaii · United States
at the back of Mānoa Valley above Honolulu

Manoa Falls Oahu Ceramic Art Tile

a green you can hear before you see it.

Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
Above the bench, in a warm oak surround.
Above the bench, in a warm oak surround.
Beside the kettle, propped on the counter.
Beside the kettle, propped on the counter.
Above the linens, in a slim black surround.
Above the linens, in a slim black surround.
On the nightstand, on a light oak stand.
On the nightstand, on a light oak stand.
On a picture ledge, where the light comes in.
On a picture ledge, where the light comes in.
a note from the studio

The 150-foot ribbon at the back of Mānoa Valley, ten minutes from downtown Honolulu and a different climate entirely. The trail in is short and reliably muddy: bamboo, ginger, old eucalyptus, a low constant sound of water that gets louder before you turn the last corner. The valley above is one of the wettest places on Oʻahu, and the green is the kind that takes that much rain to make. Swimming is not permitted at the pool. Most people stay a few minutes and walk back down.

from the studio
shown in a slim black floating frame · 6 × 6 in
shown in a slim black floating frame · 6 × 6 in
— bring it home

Manoa Falls Oahu Ceramic Art Tile, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

comes gift-ready
comes gift-ready

Each tile ships in a kraft box, tied with cream ribbon, with a handwritten note from the studio if you'd like to add one.

or build a grouping
or build a grouping

Three or five different vistas, hung together — a chapter of places you've been, or want to go.

about Manoa Falls Oahu Ceramic Art Tile

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
the place

Mānoa Falls drops about 150 feet at the back of Mānoa Valley, roughly five miles inland from Waikiki and Honolulu in the southeastern reach of Oʻahu. The valley is held between two ridges of the Koʻolau Range, older basalt weathered into the deep amphitheatre the falls now sit at the head of. The trail begins above the Lyon Arboretum, climbs gently for about three-quarters of a mile through a forest of bamboo, hau, and Indian banyan, and ends at a viewing platform below the pool. The land is managed under the Honolulu Watershed Forest Reserve by the State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources.

the water

Upper Mānoa Valley is one of the wettest places on Oʻahu. Long-term averages near the back of the valley exceed 150 inches of rainfall a year, fed by trade winds lifting moist air up the windward face of the Koʻolau ridge. The falls flow in every month, varying widely with the storms; after heavy rain the volume can multiply, and the pool below clouds with red sediment from the basalt slopes upstream. Swimming is not permitted. The water carries Leptospira bacteria common to Hawaiian freshwater streams, and the cliff face above the pool routinely sheds loose rock. The State posts the closure on a sign at the trailhead.

the visit

The Mānoa Falls Trail runs about 1.6 miles round-trip and gains roughly 600 feet of elevation, easy by Oʻahu standards but persistently muddy. The trailhead sits at the end of Mānoa Road, past Paradise Park and just before the Lyon Arboretum, with a paid parking lot run by a private operator. Plan an hour and a half. Closed-toed shoes are sensible; the red mud stains and dries slow. The viewing platform at the end is the legal turnaround, and the falls themselves are roped off after a long history of rockfall accidents. Mornings tend to be drier and emptier than afternoons, when the trade-wind clouds bank against the Koʻolau ridge.

where
United States · Honolulu County, Hawaii
within
Honolulu Watershed Forest Reserve
position
21.3326° N · 157.7997° W
the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
1 km S
Lyon Arboretum
botanical garden
3 km S
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
university campus
7 km S
Waikīkī Beach
beach
9 km SE
Diamond Head (Lēʻahi)
volcanic crater
10 km NW
Nuʻuanu Pali Lookout
scenic lookout
N
Manoa Falls Oahu Ceramic Art Tile
Lyon Arboretum
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Waikīkī Beach
Diamond Head (Lēʻahi)
Nuʻuanu Pali Lookout
common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Manoa Falls Oahu Ceramic Art Tile — and about bringing the piece home.
about the place

Mānoa Falls is at the back of Mānoa Valley on Oʻahu, about five miles inland from downtown Honolulu and Waikīkī. The trailhead is at the upper end of Mānoa Road, just below the Lyon Arboretum. The falls drop down a basalt cliff at the foot of the Koʻolau Range.

Mānoa Falls drops about 150 feet (around 46 metres) in a single thin ribbon down the basalt headwall at the back of the valley. The volume varies dramatically with rainfall in the upper valley, from a quiet trickle in dry weeks to a heavy plunge after a storm.

Swimming is not permitted at the pool below Mānoa Falls. The State of Hawaii closes the immediate area for two reasons: Leptospira bacteria are common in Oʻahu freshwater streams and can cause serious illness, and the cliff above the pool sheds loose rock with little warning.

The Mānoa Falls Trail is about 1.6 miles round-trip with around 600 feet of elevation gain, finishing at a viewing platform below the falls. Most hikers take 60 to 90 minutes. The trail stays muddy in any season; closed-toed shoes are sensible.

Mānoa Valley and the forest around the falls have appeared in many productions, including scenes for the original Jurassic Park (1993) and the television series Lost. The valley's dense rainforest stands in regularly for prehistoric and remote-island settings.

Mornings between 8 and 10 are usually the driest and quietest. Trade-wind clouds tend to build over the Koʻolau ridge by mid-afternoon, and the valley often catches a passing shower. The trail closes after heavy rain, when the surface becomes unsafe and the falls flow with debris.

The trail and surrounding land are part of the Honolulu Watershed Forest Reserve, managed by the State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources through its Na Ala Hele trail system. The parking lot at the trailhead is operated privately on adjacent land.

about the piece in your home

It has been for many of our customers with ties to the island. Mānoa Valley is a place locals associate with rain, ginger plants, and the long green tunnel of the trail in. A Small or Medium with a handwritten studio note carries the valley well into a mainland room.

The deep greens and warm rain-light suit Coastal-modern, Tropical-modernist, and warm Minimalist interiors. The tile reads as a single jewel against pale walls, and as a window in a darker room. Wood tones such as teak, walnut, and koa pick up the warmth in the foliage.

Biophilic and Tropical-modernist interiors have continued to grow in 2024 and 2025, particularly among buyers who lived in or visited Hawaii and miss the green. The Mānoa Falls tile fits a slow, lived-in version of the trend rather than the high-saturation poster look.

For a standard three-seat sofa or a long console, a single Large reads well at eye level. For a more generous wall a 4-tile Mural carries the space, and the 9-tile Mural is the most considered option for a feature wall above a sectional or a bed.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and made for vertical installation in wet rooms: backsplashes, shower walls, powder rooms. The Glossy finish is meant for framed wall pieces and dry display, not steam-heavy environments.

A soft microfibre cloth and water are enough. The colour lives in the surface beneath a thin glossy finish, so it does not fade or scrub off with normal use. Avoid bleach-based cleaners and abrasive pads; neither is needed and both can dull the finish.

Yes. Reid Wender is the curator and the eye behind every piece in the WenderVista atlas. Wender Studios is a family studio in Knoxville, Tennessee, and no designs are licensed from outside artists or stock libraries.

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