Many people who visit the Hawaiian Islands come first to Honolulu, or perhaps even Maui or the Big Island, and most never get any further. But if you want to see the real Hawaii you must trek to the least visited and least developed of the major islands, Molokai. There's not a single traffic light, fast food joint, or elevator on the entire island. This is the Hawaii of legend - the way it used to be when Hawaii was really paradise.
And then if you want to see a part of Molokai that even many natives to the island never see, dare to either hike or ride a mule down the 26 switchbacks that descend the highest sea cliffs on earth to Kalaupapa. No roads lead to Kalaupapa - only this torturous mountain path. Once a leper colony and now a National Historic Park, this is without doubt one of the most out-of-the-way spots in the islands, and definitely one of the most beautiful and interesting. After making three trips to Hawaii and extensively exploring four of the major islands, this is the place where I made my fondest memories.
Only 123 people live in Kalaupapa and some say there is nothing here. There's no traffic, no shopping, no crowds, no place to party. But history is here - ancient and modern. Raw primal nature is here - like you'll see nowhere else. Peace, beauty and seclusion are here. And you'll be a fortunate person indeed if your journeys bring you here too.
The only way to visit Kalaupapa is by invitation, but that is easily obtained through one of the tour companies on Molokai. At Kalapaupa you will see the ruins of an ancient Polynesian culture, hundreds of years old. And you will be moved by the story of the leper colony, a remnant of which still remains, where hundreds of people were once abandoned to their disease before modern science found a cure.
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