This post brings an end to my Maui travelogue. Our flight was late in the evening and we thought of taking a trip to Haleakalā peak, the highest peak in Maui Island.

Interestingly, the summit crater is not formed by volcanic eruption lava but because of erosion over eons. The Haleakala Crater is gigantic and provides a mesmerizing picturesque view.

The drive was about 50 miles. The first 20 miles were around the valley and the next thirty was a steep climb to over 10,000 feet. Unlike the road to Hana, the driveway was not narrow and we could manage a decent pace of about 25-30 miles per hour. However, as we climbed up, the roads got narrower and at times without the road guards, gave me a jittery feeling as I observed the steep fall. When we were around 7,000 feet above sea level we literally crossed the cloud. The temperature also dropped by about 20-25 degrees. Here are something to take care of if you are planning to take this peak

• Take a light jacket and a pair of good shoes, it gets cold up there

• There are no shops. Please take water and other essentials

• Also, no gas station ⛽️ so, fill your tank before the drive.

• There are cyclists 🚴‍♀️ all around. Drive carefully

• If you plan to see the sunrise(we didn’t), plan to leave home by 2:00 AM. Also, you need a reservation for the same. So call and find out. Usually, the time to book is between 3 and 7 in the morning

• The park has an entrance fees of 20 dollars. We didn’t pay, as there was a government shutdown.

Once we reached the top we found a signage claiming it to be the world 4th most cleanest peak. The US government had setup a huge observatory with telescopes 🔭. It was out of bounds and we took a picture from a distance.

The view from the top was breathtaking. After taking some pictures we traveled down half a mile to another scenic spot. It was a climb up to another Volcanic hill. We took the half mile climb up, to capture the panoramic view of the carter created over millions of years.

Another half mile down we had another overlook stop. I casually looked at the display board and found my favorite author, Mark Twain, climbed the mountain in 1866. See the quote in the picture.

We were hungry and we climbed down to find the first restaurant to eat. It was a local lodge and both food and the view was amazing.

We drove back to the airport, bringing an end to a beautiful vacation. Thanks so much for your read. If you are interested to read my previous day posts you can do so by clicking the links below.

Day 0

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

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