Keanae Peninsula - Taro, Lava and an 1850s Church

Photo: Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand, CC0 (cropped)

A stop on Maui: The Road to Hana, a free self-guided tour.

Drop down the side road to Keanae and you enter one of the most traditional Hawaiian communities on Maui. The peninsula is a flat tongue of lava that flowed from Haleakala into the sea, ringed by black rocks and pounding surf. Inland, families still grow taro in flooded patches called loi, the same crop Hawaiians have farmed here for centuries.

There is a well-known legend about how the taro got here. The story says the peninsula was once bare rock, and the people carried soil down from the valley above, basket by basket, until there was enough to plant. Whether or not it happened that way, it captures the effort that went into farming this coast.

In the village stands Lanakila Ihiihi o Iehova o na Kaua, a stone church built in the mid-1800s of lava rock and coral mortar. When the 1946 tsunami swept the peninsula, it was reportedly the only building left standing.

This is a living village. Drive slowly, stay on the road, and do not enter the taro patches.

Getting here: About 4 miles past Kaumahina, just past mile marker 16, turn left onto Keanae Road and follow it down to the peninsula and church.

Did you know?: The church walls are about 28 inches thick, built with volunteer labor over several years.

Photo op: Walk to the shoreline by the church and frame the waves crashing on black lava rock with the green cliffs of Haleakala behind.

Nearby: Aunty Sandy's banana bread stand sits near the end of the road (closed Sundays). No public restrooms in the village; use Kaumahina or the next stop.

More on Wikipedia: Ke?anae, Hawaii · Taro · 1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake

Keanae Peninsula - Taro, Lava and an 1850s Church

Stops on this tour