Long before the road, Hāna was one of the great places of old Hawaiʻi, and it remains one of the most traditional Native Hawaiian communities in the islands. For centuries Hawaiians have farmed kalo (taro) in its valleys and fished its bays, and Hāna was a seat of power and a contested prize among the chiefs of Maui and Hawaiʻi Island. In the 1500s the Maui ruler Piʻilani united the island and built the Alaloa, the ʻlong roadʻ that once encircled Maui — the ancient ancestor of todayʻs highway. Hāna is also the birthplace of Queen Kaʻahumanu, born here around 1768. These are living, sacred places, and they are treated here with respect: the great heiau at Piʻilanihale and the cliffs of Kaʻuiki are honored from a distance, not as souvenirs.
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.
