At least 10 tour helicopter companies are based on Kauai, more than on any other island. Helicopter tours have become the island's signature attraction possibly because its fascinating, largely untouched interior and the spectacular Na Pali Coast are inaccessible to vehicular traffic. Here, it is possible to lift off from a heliport, quickly bypass populated areas, and, in minutes, leave civilization behind. Look down and you'll find yourself flying low over deep, impossibly tangled, uninhabitable canyons where inland waterfalls drop hundreds of feet right outside your window.

Now and then, the helicopter will hover before a unique geographic or legendry site and the pilot, like a guide standing before a masterpiece in an art museum, will fill in the details. Noise-canceling headphones wipe out the roar of the helicopter rotors. Music, like the soundtrack from a movie, sets the mood. And the narrator, that is your pilot, guides you skillfully into what many describe as a mystical experience.

Most helicopter tours eventually lead to the ancient crater of Mt. Wai'ale'ale. It rains nearly 400 inches a year on the top of the mountain making it one of the wettest spots on earth. So it's not unusual for a light rain or mist to be falling when you enter the crater, which means everywhere you turn there will be waterfalls. In this primordial cathedral, the handiwork of the gods or nature overwhelms. The helicopter hovers and a hush descends.

Helicopter tours, with the exception of one at Princeville and another on the Westside, travel similar routes from a heliport near the airport, to Hanapepe Valley, Olokele and Waimea Canyons, the Na Pali Coast, the North Shore, Mt. Wai'ale'ale and back to the airport. Helicopter companies also offer a variety of tours, with rides varying from about 30 minutes to more than 90 minutes. If you're not in the air for at least 60 minutes, you'll wish you had been.

Tours depart from three locations on Kauai — the Lihue Airport, Pt. Allen near Hanapepe and Princeville Airport.