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Kahakuloa Head
Heading up out of the valley a pull-off above the northern edge of town provides a bird's-eye view of the village and the surrounding coast. The rise on the south side of Kahakuloa Bay is Kahakuloa Head (636ft), once one of chief Kahekili's favorite cliff-diving spots.
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Kahakuloa Village
Remote and quintessentially Hawaiian, Kahakuloa Village sits at the base of a tidy valley embraced by sea cliffs standing like sentinels on either side of the bay. Although it contains only a few dozen homes, Kahakuloa (Tall Lord) has two churches.
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Kahanu Gardens
The remarkable Kahanu Gardens cover 122 acres of ethnobotanical wonders, including the world's largest breadfruit tree collection. Operated by the National Tropical Botanical Garden, which is dedicated to the conservation of rare and medicinal plants, Kahanu Gardens features collections from the tropical Pacific. Most interesting is the canoe garden, landscaped with plants brought to Hawaii by early Polynesian settlers.
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Kaihalulu (Red Sand) Beach
A favored haunt of nude sunbathers, Kaihalulu (Red Sand) Beach on the south side of Ka'uiki Head owes its sand to the red cinder hill and its turquoise waters to Hana's pollution-free remoteness. The cove is partly protected by a lava outcrop, but the currents can be powerful when the surf is up. Water drains through a break on the left side, which should be avoided. Your best chance of finding calm waters is in the morning.
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Kalepolepo Beach Park
Children love to play in the calm, shallow waters at Kalepolepo Beach Park, which borders the south side of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary headquarters.
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Kanaha Pond
Just beyond Hwy 37, near its junction with Hwy 36, Kanaha Pond provides a haven for rare Hawaiian birds, including the endangered black-necked stilt, a wading bird with long orange legs that feeds along the pond's marshy edges. Even though this graceful bird has a population of just 1500 in the entire state, you can count on spotting it here.
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Kapalua Beach
The picture-perfect Kapalua Beach gets the seal of approval! Not only do tourists sun on the beach here, but endangered monk seals sometimes haul out to snooze the afternoon away on the soft white sand.
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Kaulanapueo Church
Huelo Rd, a one-lane road a half-mile past the 3-mile marker, leads down to Kaulanapueo Church, which was constructed of coral in 1853 and named for the owls (pueo) that once thrived in the surrounding forest. The tin-roofed church is often locked, however, so if you're short on time, this one can be saved for another day.
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Ke'anae Arboretum
Time for a stretch? Ke'anae Arboretum, 0.75 miles past the 16-mile marker, follows a stream bed past an array of shady trees. Coolest of all are the painted eucalyptus trees and the golden-stemmed bamboo, whose green stripes look like the strokes of a Japanese shodo artist. The path, which takes about 20 minutes to walk, passes ginger and other fragrant plants before ending at taro patches.
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Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge
A bird-watcher's oasis, the Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge harbors native waterbirds year-round and hosts migratory ducks and shorebirds from October to April. In the rainy winter months Kealia Pond swells to more than 400 acres, making it one of the largest natural ponds in Hawaii. In summer it shrinks to half the size, giving it a skirt of crystalline salt (Kealia means 'salt-encrusted place').
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Keawakapu Beach
There's a lot to like about Keawakapu Beach, which stretches from the southernmost part of Kihei to Wailea's Mokapu Beach. Not only is Keawakapu Beach less crowded than Kihei's roadside beaches but it offers a stellar view, and during winter humpback whales come quite close to shore.
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Keawala'i Congregational Church
South on Makena Bay is the Keawala'i Congregational Church, one of Maui's earliest missionary churches. The current building was erected in 1855 with 3ft-thick walls made of burnt coral rock. Don't miss the adjacent graveyard, which has old tombstones adorned with cameo photographs, many of Hawaiian cowboys laid to rest in the 1920s.
Makena Rd ends shortly after the church at a cul-de-sac on the ocean side of Maui Prince Hotel.
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Kepaniwai Heritage Gardens Park
Two miles west of Wailuku, the family-oriented Kepaniwai Heritage Gardens Park pays tribute to Hawaii's varied ethnic heritage. Among the highlights are a traditional Hawaiian hale, a New England-style missionary home, a Filipino farmer's hut, Japanese gardens with stone pagodas and a Chinese pavilion with a statue of revolutionary hero Sun Yat-sen (who, incidentally, briefly lived on Maui).
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Ko'olau Forest Reserve
Hold on to your hat - now the real fun begins! As the highway snakes along the edge of the Ko'olau Forest Reserve, the jungle takes over with a one-lane bridge and waterfall offering drama at every other bend. Ko'olau, which means 'windward,' catches the rain clouds and squeezes out about 80in of rain annually on the coast and a mighty 200in to 300in up the slopes. No surprise - that makes for awesome waterfalls as the rainwater rushes down the reserve's abundant gulches and streams.
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Kula Botanical Garden
Pleasantly overgrown and shady, the mature Kula Botanical Garden has walking paths that wind through acres of theme plantings, including native Hawaiian specimens and a 'taboo garden' of poisonous plants. Because a stream runs through it, the garden supports a wider variety of vegetation than you'll find in other Kula gardens - the whole place is an explosion of color.
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La Perouse Bay
In addition to the raw natural beauty of this place, La Perouse Bay has a rich history. It was at La Perouse that the first Westerners set foot on Maui. When the French explorer Jean François de Galaup La Perouse landed here in 1786, scores of Hawaiians from the village of Keone'o'io came out to greet him.
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Lahaina
The former whaling port of Lahaina buzzes with commercial activity and shelters plenty of historic buildings that can be fun to poke around. The main drag and tourist strip is Front St, with its bustling harbour backed by the whaling-era Pioneer Inn and a park boasting the largest banyan tree in the USA. In winter, Papawai Point, a roadside area between Lahaina and Ma'alaea, is a prime whale-watching spot.
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Lahaina Heritage Museum
The inspired Lahaina Heritage Museum, operated by Lahaina Town Action Committee volunteers, displays changing exhibits that celebrate Lahaina's culture and history. The focus could be on anything from ancient Hawaiian society to 19th-century whaling, but whatever it is it's well worth the climb to the 2nd floor to check it out.
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Lahaina Jodo Mission
Enjoy a meditative moment at this Lahaina Jodo Mission, where a 12ft-high bronze Buddha sits serenely in the courtyard looking out across the Pacific toward its homeland in Japan. The grounds contain a lofty pagoda and a 3-ton temple bell, Hawaii's largest, which is rung 11 times at daily.
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Lahaina Public Library
At first glance you might not see much but a closer look reveals a treasure trove of obscure sights. The grounds of the Lahaina Public Library were once the site of a royal taro field; Kamehameha III occasionally toiled in the mud here to instill in his subjects the dignity of labor.
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Little Beach
Little Beach, also known as Pu'u Ola'i Beach, is south Maui's au naturel beach (though nudity is officially illegal). Hidden by a rocky outcrop that juts out from Pu'u Ola'i, the cinder hill that marks the north end of Big Beach, most visitors don't even know Little Beach is there. But take the short trail up the rock that links the two beaches and bam, there it is, spread out in front of you. The crowd is mixed, about half gay and half straight.
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Makaluapuna Point
Makaluapuna Point, the northwest point of Oneloa Bay, is topped by a curious formation known as the Dragon's Teeth. The lava rock here has been cut by whipping surf into 3ft-high spikes that bear an uncanny resemblance to pointed teeth. It's a fun site to walk to and only takes about 15 minutes return.
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Makena Landing
This is a kickin' bay for water activities. There's no better place on Maui for kayaking and when seas are calm snorkeling is good along the rocks at the south side of Makena Landing, the boat launch that's the center of the action. Makena Bay is also a good place for shore dives; divers will want to head to the north side of the bay.
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Makena State Park
Makena State Park wraps three beaches in one, and should be high on every traveler's itinerary. Its crowning glory, Big Beach, is the sort of scene that people conjure up when they dream of a Hawaiian beach - beautiful and expansive, with virtually no development on the horizon. Although it's a state park, Makena remains in a natural state, with no facilities except for a couple of pit toilets and picnic tables.
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Malu'aka Beach
Forget about calling it Malu'aka Beach - everyone just calls this 'Turtle Beach.' Snorkelers and kayakers flock here to see the sea turtles that frequent this golden-sand beach fronting the Maui Prince Hotel. You'll find fantastic coral about 100yd out. Sea turtles feed along the coral and often swim within just feet of the snorkelers. It's best at the south end of the beach, and that's where everyone else will be.
