There are wilder roads and steeper roads and even more dangerous roads, but in all of Hawaii no road is more celebrated than this one. It winds for 50 miles past taro patches, magnificent seascapes, waterfall pools, botanical gardens, and verdant rain forests, and it ends at one of Hawaii's most beautiful tropical places.

The outside world discovered the little village of Hana in 1926, when the narrow coastal road, carved by pickax-wielding convicts, opened with 56 bridges and 600 hairpin switchbacks. The mud-and-gravel road, often subject to landslides and washouts, was paved in 1962, when tourist traffic began to increase; it now sees more than 1,000 cars and dozens of vans a day, according to storekeeper Harry Hasegawa. That equals about 500,000 people a year on this road, which is way too many. Go at the wrong time, and you'll be stuck in a bumper-to-bumper rental-car parade--peak traffic hours are midmorning and midafternoon year-round, especially on weekends.

In the rush to "do" Hana in a day, most visitors spin around town in 10 minutes flat and wonder what all the fuss is about. It takes time to take in Hana, play in the waterfalls, sniff the tropical flowers, hike to bamboo forests, and take in the spectacular scenery; stay overnight if you can, and meander back in a day or two.

However, if you really must do the Hana Highway in a day, go just before sunrise and return after sunset: On a full-moon night, you'll believe in magic when you see the sea and the waterfalls glowing in soft white light, with mysterious shadows appearing in the jungle. And you'll have the road almost to yourself on the way back.

Akamai tips: Forget your mainland road manners. Practice aloha: Give way at the one-lane bridges, wave at oncoming motorists, let the big guys in four-by-fours with pig-hunting dogs in the back have the right of way--it's just common sense, brah. If the guy behind you blinks his lights, let him pass. Oh, yeah, and don't honk your horn--in Hawaii, it's considered rude.

A Great Family Hike

At mile marker 9, there's a small state wayside area with rest rooms, a pavilion, picnic tables, and a barbecue area. The sign says Koolau Forest Reserve, but the real attraction here is the Waikamoi Ridge Trail, an easy 3/4-mile loop that the entire family can do. The start of the trail is just behind the quiet trees at work sign. The well-marked trail meanders through eucalyptus (including the unusual paper-bark eucalyptus), ferns, and hala trees.

A Great Plunge Along the Way

A dip in a waterfall pool is everybody's tropical-island fantasy. The first great place to stop is Twin Falls, at mile marker 2. Just before the wide, concrete bridge, pull over on the mountain side and park (but not in front of the sign that says do not block driveway). Keep in mind that there have been thefts in this area, and remember that a good thief can get into your locked trunk faster than you can with your key. Hop over the ladder on the right side of the red gate and walk about 3 to 5 minutes to the waterfall and pool off to your left, or continue on another 10 to 15 minutes to the second, larger waterfall and pool (do not go in if it has been raining recently). What a way to start the trip to Hana.

Another Photo Op: Keanae Lookout

Just past mile marker 17 is a wide spot on the ocean side of the road, where you can see the entire Keanae Peninsula's checkerboard pattern of green taro fields and its ocean boundary etched in black lava. Keanae was the result of a postscript eruption of Haleakala, which flowed through the Koolau Gap and down Keanae Valley and added this geological punctuation to the rugged coastline.

Can't Miss Photo Opportunities

Just past mile marker 12 is the Kaumahina ("moonrise") State Wayside Park. Not only is this a good pit stop (rest rooms are available here) and a wonderful place for a picnic under the tall eucalyptus trees (with tables and barbecue area), but it's also a great vista point. The view of the rugged coastline makes an excellent photo--you can see all the way down to the jutting Keanae Peninsula. Just past the park on the ocean side, there's another scenic turnoff (be careful crossing the oncoming traffic) and great photo opportunity.

Another mile and a couple of bends in the road, and you'll enter the Honomanu Valley ("valley of the bird"), with its beautiful bay. To get down to the Honomanu Bay County Beach Park, look for the turnoff on your left, just after mile marker 14, as you begin your ascent up the other side of the valley. The rutted dirt-and-cinder road takes you down to the rocky black-sand beach. There are no facilities here, except for a stone fire pit someone has made in the sand. This is a popular site among surfers and net fishermen. There are strong rip currents offshore, so swimming is best in the stream inland from the ocean. You'll consider the drive down worthwhile as you stand on the beach, well away from the ocean, and turn to look back on the steep cliffs covered with vegetation.

Dangerous Curves

About a half mile after mile marker 6, there's a sharp U-curve in the road, going uphill. The road is practically one lane here, with a brick wall on one side and virtually no maneuvering room. Sound your horn at the start of the U-curve to let approaching cars know you are coming. Take this curve, as well as the few more coming up in the next several miles, very slowly.

Just before mile marker 7 is a forest of waving bamboo. The sight is so spectacular that drivers are often tempted to take their eyes off the road. Be very cautious. Wait until just after mile marker 7, at the Kaaiea ("breathtaking") Bridge and stream below, to pull over and take a closer look at the hand-hewn stone walls. Then turn around to see the vista of bamboo, a photo opportunity that certainly qualifies as "breathtaking."

Fruit & Flower Stands

Around mile marker 18, the road widens; you'll start to see numerous small stands selling fruit or flowers. Many of these stands work on the honor system: You leave your money in the basket and select your purchase. We recommend stopping at Uncle Harry's, which you'll find just after the Keanae School around mile marker 18. Native Hawaiian Harry Kunihi Mitchell was a legend in his time. An expert in native plants and herbs, he devoted his life to the Hawaiian-rights and nuclear-free movements. Mitchell's family sells a variety of fruit and juices here, Monday through Saturday from 9am to 4pm.

Hana Airport

After mile marker 31, a small sign points to the Hana Airport, down Alalele Road on the left. Island Air (tel. 800/323-3345 from the mainland, or 800/652-6541 in Hawaii) has two flights a day to Kahului with connections to other islands. Newly formed commuter airline Pacific Wings (tel. 888/575-4546) offers three flights daily to and from Hana, with connecting flights from Kahului as well. There is no public transportation in Hana. Car rentals are available through Dollar Rent A Car (tel. 800/800-4000 or 808/248-8237).

Hidden Huelo

Just before mile marker 4 on a blind curve, look for a double row of mailboxes overseen by a fading HAWAII VISITORS BUREAU sign. Down the road lies a hidden Hawaii: a Hawaii of an earlier time, where ocean waves pummel soaring lava cliffs and where an indescribable sense of serenity prevails.

Protruding out of Maui's tumultuous northern coastline, hemmed in by Waipo and Hoalua Bays, is the remote, rural community of Huelo. Once, this fertile area supported a population of 75,000; today, only a few hundred live among the scattered homes on this windswept land, where a handful of bed-and-breakfasts and exquisite vacation rentals are known only to a select few travelers.

The only reason Huelo is even marked is the historic 1853 Kaulanapueo Church, which sits in the center of a putting-green-perfect lawn, bordered with hog-wire fence and accessible through a squeaky, metal turnstile. Reminiscent of New England architecture, this coral-and-cement church, topped with a plantation-green steeple and a cloudy gray tin roof, is still in use, although services are held just once or twice a month. It still has the same austere, stark interior of 1853: straight-backed benches, a no-nonsense platform for the minister, and no distractions on the walls to tempt you from paying attention to the sermon.

Next to the church is a small graveyard, a personal history of this village in concrete and stone. The graves, facing the setting sun and bleached white over the decades, are the community's garden of memories, each well tended and oft-visited.

Into The Country

Past Hookipa Beach, the road winds down into Maliko ("Budding") Gulch at mile marker 10. At the bottom of the gulch, look for the road on your right, which will take you out to Maliko Bay. Take the first right, which goes under the bridge and past a rodeo arena (scene of competitions by the Maliko Roping Club in summer) and on to the rocky beach. There are no facilities here except a boat-launch ramp. In the 1940s, Maliko had a thriving community at the mouth of the bay, but its residents rebuilt farther inland after a strong tidal wave wiped it out.

Back on the Hana Highway, as you leave Maliko Gulch, you'll see acres of pineapple fields on your right around mile marker 11. Don't be tempted to stop and pick pineapples, because they're the private property of Maui Land & Pineapple Co.; picking is considered stealing. For the next few miles, you'll pass through the rural area of Haiku, with banana patches, glimpses of farms, cane grass blowing in the wind, and forests of guava trees, avocados, kukui trees, palms, and Christmas berry. Just before mile marker 15 is the Maui Grown Market and Deli (tel. 808/572-1693), a good stop for drinks or snacks for the ride.

At mile marker 16, the curves begin, one right after another. Slow down and enjoy the view of bucolic rolling hills, mango trees, and vibrant ferns. After mile marker 16, the road is still called the Hana Highway, but the number changes from Highway 36 to Highway 360, and the mile markers go back to 0.

Keanae Peninsula

The old Hawaiian village of Keanae stands out against the Pacific like a place time forgot. Here, on an old lava flow graced by an 1860 stone church and swaying palms, is one of the last coastal enclaves of native Hawaiians. They still grow taro in patches and pound it into poi, the staple of the old Hawaiian diet; they still pluck opihi (shellfish) from tide pools along the jagged coast and cast throw-nets at schools of fish.

The turnoff to the Keanae Peninsula is on the left, just after the arboretum. The road passes by farms and banana bunches as it hugs the peninsula. Where the road bends, there's a small beach where fishers gather to catch dinner. A quarter-mile farther is the Keanae Congregational Church (tel. 808/248-8040), built in 1860 of lava rocks and coral mortar, standing out in stark contrast to the green fields surrounding it. Beside the church is a small beach-front park, with false kamani trees against a backdrop of black lava and a roiling turquoise sea.

For an experience in an untouched Hawaii, follow the road until it ends. Park by the white fence and take the short, 5-minute walk along the shoreline over the black lava. Continue along the footpath through the tall California grass to the black rocky beach, separating the freshwater stream, Pinaau, which winds back into the Keanae Peninsula, nearly cutting it off from the rest of Maui. This is an excellent place for a picnic and a swim in the cool waters of the stream. There are no facilities here, so be sure you leave no evidence that you were here (carry everything out with you and use rest room facilities before you arrive). As you make your way back, notice the white PVC pipes sticking out of the rocks--they're fishing-pole holders for fishermen, usually hoping to catch ulua.

Koolau Forest Reserve

After Huelo, the vegetation seems lusher, as though Mother Nature had poured Miracle-Gro on everything. This is the edge of the Koolau Forest Reserve. Koolau means "windward," and this certainly is one of the greatest examples of a lush windward area: The coastline here gets about 60 to 80 inches of rain a year, and farther up the mountain, the rainfall is 200 to 300 inches a year.

Here you will see 20- to 30-foot-tall guava trees, their branches laden with green (not ripe) and yellow (ripe) fruit. The skin is peeled and the fruit inside of the guava eaten raw, squeezed for juice, or cooked for jams or jellies. Also in this prolific area are mangos, java plums, and avocados the size of softballs. The spiny, long-leafed plants you see are hala trees, which the Hawaiians used for roofing material and for weaving baskets, mats, and even canoe sails. The very tall trees, up to 200 feet tall, are eucalyptus, brought to Hawaii from Australia to supply the sugarcane mills with power for the wood-burning engines. Unfortunately, in the nearly 100 years since the fast-growing tree was first introduced, it has quickly taken over Hawaiian forests, forcing out native plants and trees.

The 200 to 300 inches of rainfall up the mountain means a waterfall (and one-lane bridge) around nearly every turn in the road from here on out, so drive slowly and be prepared to stop and yield to oncoming cars.

Maui's Botanical World

Farther along the winding road, between mile markers 16 and 17, is a cluster of bunkhouses composing the YMCA Camp Keanae. A quarter-mile down is the Keanae Arboretum, where the region's botany is divided into three parts: native forest; introduced forest; and traditional Hawaiian plants, food, and medicine. You can swim in the pools of Piinaau Stream, or press on along a mile-long trail into Keanae Valley, where a lovely tropical rain forest waits at the end.

More Great Plunges

Another great waterfall is Puohokamoa Falls, a 30-foot falls that spills into an idyllic pool in a fern-filled amphitheater. Naturalist Ken Schmidt says that its name, loosely translated, means "valley of the chickens bursting into flight"--which is what hot, sweaty hikers look like as they take the plunge. Park at the bridge at mile marker 11 and take the short walk up the trail, which is lined with stone walls. The spectacular waterfall and deep swimming pool are surrounded by banana trees, colorful heliconias, and sweet-smelling ginger. Bring mosquito repellent. There's a picnic table at the pool.

Back at your car, be sure to check out the view toward the ocean from the bridge: Dozens of varieties of heliconias blanket the valley below.

Old Nahiku

Just after mile marker 25 is a narrow 3-mile road leading from the highway, at about 1,000 feet elevation, down to sea level--and to the remains of the old Hawaiian community of Nahiku. At one time, this was a thriving village of thousands; today, the population has dwindled to fewer than a hundred--including a few Hawaiian families, but mostly extremely wealthy mainland residents who jet in for a few weeks at a time to their luxurious vacation homes. At the turn of the century, this site saw brief commercial activity as home of the Nahiku Rubber Co., the only commercial rubber plantation in the United States. You can still see rubber trees along the Nahiku Road. However, the amount of rainfall, coupled with the damp conditions, could not support the commercial crop; the plantation closed in 1912, and Nahiku was forgotten until the 1980s, when multimillionaires "discovered" the remote and stunningly beautiful area.

At the end of the road, you can see the remains of the old wharf from the rubber-plantation days. Local residents come down here to shoreline fish; there's a small picnic area off to the side. Dolphins are frequently seen in the bay.

Puaa Kaa State Wayside Park

You'll hear this park long before you see it, about halfway between mile markers 22 and 23. The sound of waterfalls provides the background music for this small park area with rest rooms, a phone, and a picnic area. There's a well-marked path to the falls and to a swimming hole. Ginger plants are everywhere: Pick some flowers and put them in your car so that you can travel with that sweet smell.

The Garden of Eden

Just past mile marker 10 is the Garden of Eden Arboretum and Botanical Garden (tel. 808/572-6453), some 26 acres of nature trails, picnic areas, and more than 500 exotic plants and trees from around the Pacific (wild ginger, an assortment of ti plants, and an impressive palm collection). The Garden of Eden is the dream of arborist/landscape designer Alan Bradbury; he and his staff have been helping to restore a natural ecosystem and promote Hawaii's native and indigenous species since 1991. Don't be surprised if this place looks familiar--it's in the opening sequence of Jurassic Park. Hours are daily from 9am to 2pm; admission is $3 per person.

The Journey Begins in Paia

Before you even start out, fill up your gas tank. Gas in Paia is mucho expensive ($2-plus a gallon), and it's the last place for gas until you get to Hana, some 42 miles, 54 bridges, and 600 hairpin turns down the road.

As you leave Paia, on your right you'll see acres of sugarcane fields, the crop that kept Maui alive for more than a century. Just before the bend in the road, you'll pass the Kuau Mart on your left; a small general store, it's the only reminder of the once-thriving community of Kuau. The road then bends into an S-turn; in the middle of the S is the entrance to Mama's Fish House, depicted by a restored 1935 panel truck with Mama's logo on the side. Just past the truck on the ocean side is the entrance to Mama's parking lot and adjacent small sandy cove in front of the restaurant. Mainly surfers use this treacherous ocean access over very slippery rocks into strong surf, but the beach is a great place to sit and soak up some sun.

The Road Closure

Back on the Hana Highway, just beyond mile marker 14, the state highway crews will be at work.

Waianapanapa State Park

At mile marker 32, just on the outskirts of Hana, shiny black-sand Waianapanapa Beach appears like a vivid dream, with bright-green jungle foliage on three sides and cobalt blue water lapping at its feet. The 120-acre park on an ancient lava flow includes sea cliffs, lava tubes, arches, and the beach, plus 12 cabins, tent camping, picnic pavilions, rest rooms, showers, drinking water, and hiking trails.

Wailua

Just after Uncle Harry's, look for the Wailua Road off on the left. This will take you through the hamlet of homes and churches of Wailua, which also contains a shrine depicting what the community calls a "miracle." Behind the pink St. Gabriel's Church is the smaller blue-and-white Coral Miracle Church, home of the Our Lady of Fatima Shrine. According to the story, in 1860, the men of this village were building a church by diving for coral to make the stone. But the coral offshore was in deep water and the men could only come up with a few pieces at a time, making the construction of the church an arduous project. A freak storm hit the area and deposited the coral from the deep on a nearby beach. The Hawaiians gathered what they needed and completed the church. This would make a nice enough miracle story, but there's more--after the church was completed, another freak storm hit the area and swept all the remaining coral on the beach back out to sea.

If you look back at Haleakala from here, on your left you can see the spectacular, near-vertical Waikani Falls. On the remainder of the dead-end road is an eclectic collection of old and modern homes. Turning around at the road's end is very difficult, so we suggest you just turn around at the church and head back for the Hana Highway.

Back on the Hana Highway, just before mile marker 19, is the Wailua Valley State Wayside Park, on the right side of the road. Climb up the stairs for a view of the Keanae Valley, waterfalls, and Wailua Peninsula. On a really clear day, you can see up the mountain to the Koolau Gap.

For a better view of the Wailua Peninsula, continue down the road about a quarter mile; on the ocean side, there will be a pull-off area with parking.

Windsurfing Mecca

A mile from Mama's, just before mile marker 9, is a place known around the world as one of the greatest windsurfing spots on the planet, Hookipa Beach Park. Hookipa ("hospitality") is where the top-ranked windsurfers come to test themselves against the forces of nature: thunderous surf and forceful wind. World-championship contests are held here, but on nearly every windy day after noon (the board surfers have the waves in the morning), you can watch dozens of windsurfers twirling and dancing in the wind like colored butterflies. To watch the windsurfers, do not stop on the highway, but go past the park and turn left at the entrance on the far side of the beach. You can either park on the high grassy bluff or drive down to the sandy beach and park alongside the pavilion. The park also has rest rooms, a shower, picnic tables, and a barbecue area.