Hawaii is not always a land tarnished by civilization. Central Maui , in the nineteenth century "a dreary expanse of sand and shifting sandhills, with a dismal growth … of thornless thistles," is now a pastoral idyll, thanks to an ingenious system of irrigation channels.

The highway to the top of Haleakala rises higher, at a faster rate, than any road on earth. Starting in rich meadows, it climbs past purple-blossoming jacaranda, firs and eucalyptus to reach open ranching land, and then ascends in huge curves to the volcanic desert and the crater itself.

Upcountry Maui

• Upcountry Maui

Explore Upcountry Maui

• Haleakala
• Makawao and Paia

Hawaii cities


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