Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The beauty of flying in on a small prop plane is the aerial view of the
pali
and towering
waterfalls. Passengers need to first book a tour with Damien Tours (
Click here
)
before
buying air tickets; otherwise you will be stuck at the landing strip if the day's tour is full.
If your flight gets you to the Kalaupapa landing strip before the 10am Damien Tours
pick-up, you'll have nothing to do but stand around admiring the view of the surf. If you
are coming from another island, you may need to fly to Molokaʻi the night before.
Return trips 'topside,' as they say locally, to Hoʻolehua are more convenient and usually
allow for easy connections to Honolulu and Maui.
from Hoʻolehua on Moloka'i and Oahu which are timed to allow for visits in a day. It of-
fers round-trips; one-way schemes allow you to walk down and fly up. Tours start at
$230 and can be booked through the airline. You can also book air packages through Mo-
lokai Mule Ride (
Click here
)
and Molokaʻi Fish & Dive (
Click here
)
.
LAND
The
Kalaupapa trailhead
is on the east side of Hwy 470, just north of the mule stables,
and marked by the Palaʻau park sign and parked Kalaupapa employee cars. The 3-mile
trail has 26 switchbacks, 1400 steps and drops 1664ft in elevation from start to finish.
It's best to begin hiking by 8am, before the mules start to go down, to avoid walking in
fresh dung, though you have no choice on the return trip. Allow an hour and a half to
descend comfortably. It can be quite an adventure after a lot of rain, though the rocks
keep it from getting impossibly muddy. Many find walking sticks a huge help.
You can also hike down and fly back up.
TOO QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
Even before Molokaʻi Ranch began efforts to develop its lands on the West End in
the 1970s, local people weren't so fond of the company. They resented the ranch
for restricting access to land, which in turn restricted a number of traditional out-
door activities and visitation to sacred cultural and historical sites. And few were
impressed by the Kaluakoi Hotel, which was built on Kepuhi Bay.
By 1975 tensions had mounted and people took to the streets, marching from
Moʻomomi Beach to Kawakiu Beach to demand access to private, and heretofore
forbidden, beaches on the West End. The protest was successful and convinced
Molokaʻi Ranch to provide public access to Kawakiu. At the same time locals suc-
cessfully scuttled plans to build an Oʻahu suburb here that would have been linked
to the neighboring island by a new airport and ferry system.
