Top Park Trips Top Hawaii Trips Hawaii NP Trips Hawaii Trips Places to stay in Hawaii more. . . A prime destination is the park's nearly 20,000 acres of wilderness, where you'll find vegetation that grows nowhere else in the world. Wander past native trees such as 'ohi'a , ' olapa , and kolea , as well as the native raspberry 'akala that grows in wet flatlands along the trails. The 8.4-mile Kuapo Gap Trail descends 6,100 feet from the lush eastern corner of the Haleakala Crater to the dry, rocky coastline of southeast Maui. Short switchbacks through this volcanic moonscape alternate with steep stretches of trail during the first 3.7 miles.
Waterfalls are often visible on the east wall.
After that, the trail drops relentlessly down through mostly open, grassy country. That's what you'll need to do to get to Paliku a primitive wilderness campground located at the base of a rain forest cliff. Groves of eucalyptus, koa and Kuapo trees provide shelter for all sorts of rare wildlife, including the Pueo a Hawaiian short-eared owl and a Hawaiian goose known as the Nene. A four-mile hike down from the summit of the volcano will get you to another wilderness campground at Holua. Share your experience, or ask a question in GORP's National Parks forum.