Mauihaleakala

Haleakala

The Haleakala in Maui’s east side is a massive shield volcano that takes up over 3 quarters of the entire island of Maui. A shield volcano is a massive volcano with shallow-sloping sides that are formed by easily-flowing lava flows. All of the volcanoes on the islands of Hawaii are shield volcanoes, but what’s interesting about Haleakala is its importance to the land mass of Maui.

Today, Haleakala is mostly visited via the Haleakala National Park, providing scenic hiking trails and beautiful natural campsites. There are three main sites in Haleakala National Park: the summit area in the mountains, the wilderness area also in the mountains, and the Kipahulu area in the coastal parts of the volcano. The park takes up a total of 28,665 acres, most of which is pure wilderness. Despite its sometimes challenging hiking trails (due mainly to the thin air at the higher elevations), the Haleakala National Park is very popular with visitors and locals. This is probably due to the one-of-a-kind vistas that one can see from Haleakala, particularly the fantastic sunrise over the volcano’s eastern peak.

The massive volcano is also used for ground-based telescopic research, thanks to the excellent clarity available at its summit, as well as the absence of city lights that can be achieved when you reach the top third of the volcano, which is entirely above the atmosphere. Scientists and researches have created a research facility and astrophysical complex called “Science City” near the top of Haleakala.

In ancient times, the volcano was named Haleakala which means “house of the sun,” probably because of the way you can see the sun rising up from the eastern side of the mountain. The volcano, like many of Hawaii’s volcanoes, is steeped in a rich mythology. The depression at the summit of the Haleakala volcano was thought to be the home of the demigod Maui’s grandmother. Maui’s grandmother was instrumental in helping Maui capture the sun in order for Maui to force the sun to slow down its journey across the sky thus elongating the day. The name Haleakala originally referred only to the summit of the volcano, but today is used synonymously with the entirety of the Eastern Maui volcano.

People interested in visiting the volcano of Haleakala and its unique summit should look into the Haleakala National Park. Today, a modern road leads to the top of the mountain and, though restricted at parts, is open to the public. Visitors are advised to take this road with care and caution as it is very curvy and contains dangerous blind turns. Visitors should also be aware that there is a $10.00 entrance fee to reach the summit and the Kipahulu coastal areas. There are several tours and buses that take visitors out to the area too, as well as Maui packages that include spots on Haleakala on their tours.