Haleakalā National Park, Maui, Hawaii

Haleakalā National Park is a giant park (33,000+ acres) on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Haleakalā means "House of the sun" in the Hawaiian language which is appropriate because it is one of the most beautiful and popular places to photograph the sunrise and sunset.

Desolate landscape with volcanic rock

Hawaiian legend has it that the demigod Maui imprisoned the sun here in order to lengthen the day.

Reaching the top of the park is fairly easy if you have a car. I did see people biking, but they were only biking down the mountain. I'm sure some bike up it, but it would be an incredibly strenuous ride as the peak is at 10,023 elevation. I felt a bit short of breath walking around and a couple of family members complained of minor headaches. 

Haleakalā National Park sits on a dormant volcano which last erupted about 500 years ago. That explains the desolate landscape.

Top of the mountain, elevation 10,023 feet

A park ranger told us that the area gets over 35 inches of rain a year, but it drains through the porous volcanic rock. That means no water stays on the surface and very little vegetation can grow.

If you go, make sure you stop at the visitor center. There's some information about the park there, and some hiking trails begin there as well.

But, the best park is behind the visitor center. Go out the back door, turn left and look over the crater out back. That's where I took a lot of the pictures I posted here. While the landscape is desolate like the rest of the park, the little valley has swaths of colors that make for great pictures.

Only the most hearty of plants grow here

Another note for visitors. If you're going to photograph the sunrise, you must make a reservation to get access to the park. Also, the mountain is accessible by a well maintained road, but it is very windy. Those prone to motion sickness or car sickness should take precautions. It's also cold at the top. When we went, it was 80 degrees in Maui and 55 at the peak. It gets below freezing at night. Finally, check the weather at the peak. On the day we went, it was rainy and overcast in Maui. It was even fogged in most of the way up the mountain. So much so that I was convinced we wouldn't see anything. But, once we broke over the clouds, the weather was magnificent with plenty of sun. It's quite exciting to look down from the mountain and see nothing but clouds below you. The Haleakalā Observatory is also on the mountain and I'll post about it tomorrow.

More about the Haleakalā Observatory tomorrow

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