PHOTO: LONELY PLANET/GETTY
Two mountain ranges joined by a narrow “saddle” allow for variation in climate and flora in this island fringed by magnificent beaches and lush foliage.
also can offer far more active recreation, eye-opening and easy-to- take nature hiking, ocean experiences, and a fascinating education in Hawaii’s history, art, and culture.
Like all the Hawaiian islands, Maui was volcanically formed. Unlike the other Hawaiian islands, however, Maui has two mountain ranges— the Pu‘u Kukui peaks of West Maui and the massive dormant volcano, Mount Haleakala, to the southeast. Essentially, the western part of Maui is an isthmus connected by the so-called saddle to the rest of the island, and because of this quirk of geography, Maui is blessed with an unusual variety of coastal and mountain terrain, along with a wide range of microclimates. (A traveler in East Maui driving from the shoreline to the top of Mount Haleakala will pass through seven climate zones.)
Maui has been a center of Hawaiian government, trade, and agriculture for many centuries, and the West Maui region is a fascinating blend of recreational, natural, historical, and cultural attractions. Lahaina,
its principal city, was the eighteenth-century
capital of the Hawaiian nation and the place of residence for three kings of the Kamehameha dynasty (1795–1872). Following Captain Cook’s first contact with Hawaiian leaders in 1778, Lahaina also became a central port for the burgeoning whaling industry. At the height of the Golden Age of Whaling (1840–1865), as many as five hundred ships a year anchored in its harbor.
In a self-guided historical tour, the Lahaina Walking Tour, the significant places of the history of these maritime glory years are noted in a free pamphlet published by the Lahaina Restoration Foundation. The sites are marked by numbered signs along the route. After visitors pause in the shade at the legendary Banyan Tree
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