Maui
Articles and information about Maui, Hawaii.
Articles and information about Maui, Hawaii.
The historic town of Lahaina has become the hot spot and place to visit on the island of Maui, Hawaii. The town was once called Lele, which in Hawaiian means relentless sun. During the early nineteenth century, Lahaina was the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii and during the mid-1800’s was a historic whaling village at the peak of the whaling boom. During the whaling boom, it was common to have hundreds of whaling ships and over a thousand sailors in the village.
There are about 55 acres of Old Lahaina that have been set aside as a historic district and Lahaina itself is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Today you can stroll down the streets of Lahaina and find several places of interest such as museums, art shops, restaurants, novelty shops as well as many other historic spots like the U.S. Seaman’s Hospital, Hale Paaho (Lahaina Prison), and several other spots along the Lahaina Historic Trail.
Just a couple recommendations that I consider must see places are the banyan tree at the beginning of Lahaina. This tree is one of the largest living things in the world, and when you see it you’ll understand why. Some thing else you should think about, is where to eat. A definite suggestion is to take in the Royal Lahaina Luau. Generally considered to be the best luau in all of Hawaii, if you haven’t enjoyed one of these Hawaiian Feasts yet, this is a must do in Lahaina. Also, from Lahaina you can find many other opportunities for tours outside of the town. There are so many attractions and things to do and see that, if you haven’t already researched the area before coming you need to find a local tour/travel desk and get more information.
I have personally visited Lahaina many times, and never get tired of exploring the town. Once you’ve been there, you’ll certainly mark the days until your return! I will be covering many of the must see, and nice to see if you have time, spots around Lahaina and the rest of the Island of Maui. So, don’t forget to continue reading our articles as we post more.
The Valley Isle is the nick name for Maui Hawaii, but it also has The Magic Isle as another nick name. The Valley Isle comes from the beautiful valleys that you’ll find on MauiHawaii, but they say it only takes one visit and you’ll call it The Magic Isle. A bit larger than Oahu, Maui Hawaii is the second largest of the Hawaiian Island chain and has a population of 131,531. Besides being the second largest, Maui Hawaii is also the second youngest of all the islands with The Big Island being the youngest at less than one million years old.
In the early 15th century King Piilani united all of the island under one ruler. It was in 1790 that the Hawaiian Chief Kamehameha battled and overthrew King Kahekili, the last ruler of Maui Hawaii. Kamehameha went on to unit all of the Hawaiian Islands and became the first King of what had become The Kingdom of Hawaii. Lahaina, Maui was the first capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
With the first sugar mill in 1828, the island turned to commercialized agriculture. This led to the immigration of farm workers from China, Japan, Puerto Rico, Korea, Philippines, and Portugal.
There are many things to see and do on Maui Hawaii. Probably the most noted aspect on Maui is that it does not the big fast-passed atmosphere like you’d find on Oahu and Honolulu. Most first time visitors to Hawaii will go to Honolulu and all the tourists occupying Waikiki Beach. But the veteran visitors almost always elect to visit Maui Hawaii to get away from all the people. This does not mean that there are no tourists on Maui, but those who are there have come for the laid back take it easy feeling you get on Maui.
Just a few of the things to do and see on Maui Hawaii are Haleaka National Park, Iao Valley State Park, Lahaina – Lahaina Historic Trail, Lahaina Jodo Mission, and much much more. I have a large set of follow-up articles covering most of the sights you can find on Maui Hawaii, so be sure to check those as I continue to post them here.
As stated above, I have a whole series of articles that will be posted here, so I invite you to bookmark this site and come back often to read more. I can also recommend having a look at the Maui Vacation Planner for Maui, Molokai, and Lanai. To read more of my articles, you can go to the nest post Lahaina, Maui. This has been Maui Hawaii.