A Food tour experience by Imu Mea ʻAi. Back to all Big Island tours.
Tour Summary: You dig the underground oven by hand and feast on kalua pork cooked in the imu the previous group built. A hands-on Hawaiian alternative to the resort luau, run by a Native Hawaiian nonprofit near Pāhoa.
The tour operates rain or shine. A Hilo-side downpour does not stop the build. 
ayers of banana and ti leaves seal in the steam before the imu is buried for the slow cook. Volcanic cinder gets shoveled over the leaf-covered oven to trap the heat. The experience runs rain or shine. Once the imu is opened, the food is carried straight to the tables. The banana leaves that lined it stay on the ground. Between steps, the group gathers under the tent to talk story and wait for the imu to be opened. The reveal: peeling back the leaves releases a cloud of steam and the smell of the day's slow-cooked meal. The fire heats the pōhaku until they glow. Kiawe burns hot and fast, ʻōhiʻa long and slow. Pōhaku (lava rock) goes in by hand. The stones hold the fire's heat that slow-cooks the food underground. The full imu spread: kalua pork, purple Hawaiian sweet potato, and carrots roasted underground, served plate by plate.
6 Tour Highlights:
- Help build a traditional imu underground oven by hand
- Learn and recite an oli taught by founder Iopa Maunakea
- Harvest plant materials and prepare the food the traditional way
- Hear moʻolelo and Hawaiian history under the shade tent
- Uncover the imu the previous group built and lift out the feast
- Eat imu-cooked pork, chicken, taro, and sweet potato ʻohana-style
Important: Important: Closed-toe shoes are required and the experience runs on uneven outdoor terrain with extended standing, so it is not recommended for guests with significant mobility limitations.
Tour Information:
| Price: | Adult | Youth |
|---|---|---|
| (excluding taxes & fees) | $150 | $75 |
Price note: Children 12 and under are free, Group (10+ adults) is $125 per person
Tour Provider: Imu Mea ʻAi
Activity: Food tour
Tour start time: 10:00 AM
Duration: 4 hours
Location: Puna
Pick-up available? No
Included: Hands-on imu building workshop, Hawaiian cultural demonstrations, Traditional oli and protocol, Cultural storytelling and history, Imu-cooked Hawaiian meal, Water and refreshments
Cancellations: Full refunds for cancellations made 15 or more days before the tour. Cancellations 7 to 15 days out receive a 50% refund. No refund within 7 days of the tour, though you can usually reschedule to a later date based on availability. If the operator cancels or reschedules for weather or safety, you receive a full refund.
Read more: about food tour in our Big Island food tour guide.
Read more about the Imu Mea ʻAi food tour
The kalua pork you eat at the end of this tour was cooked in an oven the previous day’s group dug by hand. The imu you build today feeds the group that shows up tomorrow.
There is no stage, no hula, no slack key guitar. The only music is the group’s own voices reciting the oli (chant) that founder Iopa Maunakea teaches when you arrive. From there you dig: a pit about four feet by four feet in the red-brown dirt, working alongside locals and the Men of PAʻA, the men the nonprofit supports. You pass and stack the firewood, kiawe (mesquite) that burns hot and fast, ʻōhiʻa (a native hardwood) that burns long and slow, then lay the pohaku, the lava rocks that hold the heat through the night.
ayers of banana and ti leaves seal in the steam before the imu is buried for the slow cook.
Stories under the tent and opening yesterday’s imu
Between steps the group breaks under the tent for water and refreshments while Maunakea tells stories about the land and Hawaiian history. His mother sometimes joins and tells her own. Then you dismantle yesterday’s imu, lifting away the hot stones, burlap, and ti leaves to uncover the feast cooked underneath. You eat ʻohana-style (family-style). Kalua pork is the main dish, served with imu-cooked chicken, taro, sweet potato, and vegetables.
For $150 adult, $75 for teens 13 to 17, and free for children 12 and under, you get a 4 hours afternoon that includes the meal and hands-on instruction from hosts reviewers name by first name: Kapoli, Carlos, Charles, and Maunakea himself. Groups are capped at 50. Closed-toe shoes are required, and bring sun cover and water, because you dig and stand on uneven ground in the open. You bend and lift during the dig, so this is a poor fit for guests with significant mobility limits, though the hosts keep the physical parts optional.
Pōhaku (lava rock) goes in by hand. The stones hold the fire’s heat that slow-cooks the food underground.
Getting there, and what the spot looks like
The site is about a 30-minute drive south of Hilo, off the highway and down progressively smaller roads, and it is a white tent over a gravel patch. Run by a Native Hawaiian nonprofit that supports Hawaiian men reintegrating after incarceration or addiction, the tour puts tourism dollars directly into that community, and it has drawn editorial attention beyond the island: Seattle Met ran a first-person feature on it in late 2025.
We think this is the closest a visitor can get to a real imu without being invited to a family gathering, and nearly all of its reviews are five stars, with reviewers naming the hosts and the kalua pork again and again.
[Video] See a video about the Imu Mea 'Ai Food Tour
About Imu Mea ʻAi
We curate this because it is the rare food experience where you help make the food rather than watch a performance, and the proceeds go directly into a Native Hawaiian nonprofit. It is the strongest fit for families, school groups, work teams, and travelers who want the cultural depth a hotel luau skips. The review record is lopsided: 99/100 reviews are five stars, with the hosts and the kalua pork named over and over. At $150 adult with kids 12 and under free, and a group rate for parties of 10 or more, it is also one of the better-value cultural experiences on the island.
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