Hāna sits on the wet, windward side of Maui, where the trade winds wring rain from the slopes of Haleakalā and the whole coast runs deep green. South of town, in the Kīpahulu district of Haleakalā National Park, the ʻOheʻo Gulch pools step down to the sea, and the Pīpīwai Trail climbs through a bamboo forest to the tall Waimoku Falls. The name Hāna is often read as ʻrainy land,ʻ and the rain is the reason for the waterfalls, the taro, and the green.
Just past town the surf breaks on a beach of jet-black sand at Waiʻānapanapa State Park — sand made not of coral but of lava, ground fine by the sea. The coast here is volcanic and dramatic: a black-pebble cove, sea caves, lava arches, blowholes, and freshwater pools, with a trail running along the cliffs. It is one of the most striking shorelines in the islands, and so sought-after it now runs on timed reservations. Black sand, green cliffs, blue water: that is the Hāna coast in three colors.
Why People Visit Hāna
People come the length of the highway for the quiet at the end of it: a pocket of old Hawaiʻi with black-sand beaches, waterfalls, and a slow, traditional pace. The drive is the point, and Hāna is the reward — so take it slowly, and travel with respect for a place that has kept old Hawaiʻi close.
