The lush vegetation along the road to Hana allows for many creative photo opportunities. Maui is blessed with a seemingly infinite number of amazing landscapes and seascapes; both a dry, sunny side and a wet, lush side. Our Road to Hana Tour winds through the lush rain forests of Maui, giving you the opportunity to see, feel, smell and hear the sounds of our rainforest. After a day tour with Valley Isle Excursions you will definitely be singing ‘Maui No Ka Oi’, (Maui is the best)!
The bulk of Maui’s forests stretch across the rainy northern sections of the West Maui Mountains and Mount Haleakala. The rain feeds a tropical rainforest filled with fragrant and colorful flora, exotic birds and hundreds of streams. The terrain is quite steep and water rushes down the mountain creating incredible waterfalls up to 400 feet in height.
The Maui rain forest covers a good portion of Haleakala from sea-level to the tree-line, which is located at approximately 6000 feet. The rainforest on Maui is simliar to other pristine rain forests around the world with their many layers of plant and animal zones. Trees, such as the Koa, make up the canopy and provide shelter to the many smaller flora such as trees, ferns and shrubs growing closer to the ground. Over the last few hundred years many non-native species of invasive plants and weeds have been introduced into our ecosystem, some of which we don’t mind taking over on a small scale. Guava, coffee, bamboo and ginger have flourished in Maui’s tropical environment, forcing many of Hawaii’s native species out, while providing food and building materials in return. A Maui rainforest hike into the huge bamboo stands of Maui is something you will never forget.
