Lanaʻi Culture & Heritage Center

Top choice in Lanaʻi


This engaging small museum is the best place to start before exploring the rest of Lana'i. It has displays with cultural artifacts covering the island's mysterious history, plus photos and a timeline showing how it became the world's pineapple supplier. The lives of the plantation workers are shown in detail: they were expected to plant up to 10,000 new pineapple plants per day.

The staff can help with general tourist information about the island and maps of key areas. Alternatively, download the Lana'i Guide app.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Lanaʻi attractions

1. Lanaʻi Cat Sanctuary

3.83 MILES

Easily Lana‘i's most peculiar attraction is this volunteer-run, 3-acre feline wonderland housing 620 cats that have been 'rescued' from the wild. Locals…

2. Kanepuʻu Preserve

4.9 MILES

The 590-acre Kanepuʻu Preserve is the last native dryland forest of its kind across all Hawaii. Just 5 miles northwest of Lanaʻi City, the forest is home…

3. Manele-Kapakuea Heritage Trail

6.02 MILES

East of Manele Habour is a 0.6-mile trail that leads to the 8m-wide, 2m-high Ka Hana Lawa'a (Fishermen's Temple), stacked with boulders. Fishermen would…

4. Keomuku

6.07 MILES

The center of a short-lived sugarcane plantation, Keomuku is 6 miles southeast of Maunalei. The highlight is the beautifully reconstructed Ka Lanakila o…

5. Manele Harbor

6.09 MILES

This harbor, off Hwy 440, is where the ferry from Maui docks. There are bathrooms and a few sheltered picnic tables here, plus a convenience store. During…

6. Pōāiwa Petroglyph Trail

6.11 MILES

Near Shipwreck Beach a 0.5-mile trail leads directly inland to the Pōāiwa petroglyphs – a cluster of more than 20 fragile carvings on dense basalt-lava…

7. Shipwreck Beach

6.17 MILES

You can stroll along this blustery shore for 7 miles looking for flotsam and shipwrecks, and taking in the views of Molokaʻi and Maui. This area is the…

8. Keahiakawelo

6.19 MILES

Inside the Kanepu'u Preserve is this a dramatic place, also known as Garden of the Gods, formed by the eruption of a volcano, the lava bombs that spewed…