Hana Highway...or Try Not to Die Highway

Hana Highway in Maui is a beautiful journey through a lush rain forest. However, traveling on this road is a little scary. Why would a road that takes you through the rain forest be scary you ask...well let me put it to you this way: it's a 52 mile road that consists of 620 curves and 46 one-lane bridges. These are the bridges where you have to stop and wait to make sure no one else is coming from the other way...yet you can't see because it's on a curve! You wait a few seconds and then bolt across praying that a local (keep in mind a local that could care less if you fall off the cliff into the ocean) is not going to run you over. Not to mention you also have to avoid hitting the tourists that stop for every drop of water that might just resemble a waterfall. I think I saw my life flash before my eyes a dozen times. Once you get over the fact that you might die here you can enjoy some spectacular nature views. Here are just a few glimpses of what Hana Highway has to offer.

While traveling through Hana Highway you can stop at several different trails/roads to see different waterfalls or just nature in general. One road we decided to take which was probably not a good idea for our rental car was Naniku Road. We probably could have used a 4-wheel drive but our little rental car powered through! I really thought I was in the middle of the jungle, but then at the end we reached our destination: a great view of the coastline!

Hana Highway also takes you through the Wai'anapanapa State Park which has blow holes and truly awesome black sand beaches. It is so weird to see a beach with black sand. The sand is black because it consists of tiny fragments of lava from a nearby volcano.

They also have a red sand beach too! It is red because it has too much iron in the sand, and it literally rusts! How crazy is that?!

I highly recommend making the trip down Hana Highway even if you have to risk your life...and possibly the life of your rental car. It is well worth it!