The Big Island of Hawaii--the island that lends its good name to the entire 1,500-mile-long Hawaiian archipelago--is where Mother Nature pulled out all stops. Simply put, it's spectacular.

The Big Island has it all: fiery volcanoes and sparkling waterfalls, black-lava deserts and snowcapped mountain peaks, tropical rain forests and alpine meadows, a glacial lake, and miles of beaches filled with a rainbow of black, green, and golden sands. The Big Island has an unmatched diversity of terrain and climate. A 50-mile drive will take you from snowy winter to sultry summer, passing through spring or fall along the way. The island looks like the inside of a barbecue pit on one side, and a lush jungle on the other.

The Big Island is the largest island in the Pacific (4,038 sq. miles--about the size of Connecticut), the youngest (800,000 years), and the least populated (with 30 people per sq. mile). It has the nation's wettest city, the southernmost point in the United States, the world's biggest telescope, the ocean's biggest trophy marlin, and America's greatest collection of tropical luxury resorts. It also has the highest peaks in the Pacific, the most volcanoes of any Hawaiian island, and the newest land on earth.

Five volcanoes--one still erupting--have created this continental island, which is growing bigger daily. At its heart is snowcapped Mauna Kea (or "White Mountain"), the world's tallest sea mountain, complete with its own glacial lake. Mauna Kea's nearest neighbor is Mauna Loa (or "Long Mountain"), creator of one-sixth of the island; it's the largest volcano on earth, rising 30,000 feet out of the ocean floor (of course, you can only see the 13,796 feet that are above sea level). Erupting Kilauea makes the Big Island bigger every day--and, if you're lucky and your timing is good, you can stand just a few feet away and watch it do its work.

Steeped in tradition and shrouded in the primal mist of creation, the Big Island called to the Polynesians across 2,000 miles of open ocean. In fact, ancient Hawaiian chants talk about a great burning in the night skies which guided the sojourners to the land of volcanoes. The Big Island radiates what the Hawaiians call "mana," a sense of spirituality that's still apparent through the acres of petroglyphs etched in the black lava, the numerous heiaus (ancient temples), burial caves scattered in the cliffs, sacred shrines both on land and in the sea, and even in the sound the wind makes as it blows across the desolate lava fields.

The Big Island is not for everyone, however. It refuses to fit the stereotype of a tropical island. Some tourists are taken aback at the sight of stark fields of lava or black-sand beaches. You must remember that it's big (expect to do lots of driving). And you may have to go out of your way if you're looking for traditional tropical beauty, such as a quintessential white-sand beach.

On the other hand, if you're into watersports, this is paradise. The two tall volcanoes mean 350 days of calm water on the leeward side. The underwater landscape of caves, cliffs, and tunnels attracts a stunning array of colorful marine life just waiting to be visited by divers and snorkelers. The island's West Coast is one of the best destinations in the world for big-game fishing. And its miles of remote coastline are a kayaker's dream of caves, secluded coves, and crescent-shaped beaches reachable only by sea.

On land, hikers, bikers, and horseback riders can head up and down a volcano, across black-sand beaches, into remote valleys, and through rain forests without seeing another soul. Bird watchers are rewarded with sightings of the rare, rapidly dwindling native birds of Hawaii. Golfers can find nirvana on top championship courses, less-crowded municipal courses, and even some unusual off-the-beaten-track choices.

This is the least-explored island in the Hawaiian chain--but if you're looking to get away from it all and back to nature in its most primal state, that might be the best thing of all about it. Where else can you witness fiery creation and swim with dolphins, ponder the stars from the world's tallest mountain and catch a blue marlin, downhill ski, and surf the waves in a single day? You can do all this, and more, on only one island in the world--the Big Island of Hawaii.