Standing above the clouds as the sun rises over the island of Maui is a celestial, cultural, and environmental experience all in one. Plus, there’s nothing quite like scaling mountain switchbacks in the early morning darkness. The trek to the top of Haleakala; “the house of the sun,” took nearly two hours in the car from Kihei and thank goodness for reflective signage.

At the top of this inactive shield volcano there is a very limited parking area manned by a National Park Ranger who was helping to organize the chaos by directing people to double and triple park in the small lot. The environment was unique with mostly barren ground of volcanic rock, dirt, sand, and a few dessert shrubs. There was also frost on the ground – yes – frost. At the top of this volcanic island of paradise was frost. Along with the frost was a hodge podge of winter and summer attire being worn by individuals in the huddled crowd. Fortunately, we knew it was going to be cold and dressed appropriately, or so we thought. A winter hat and gloves isn’t out of the question here! 

We got there early enough so we could walk around the small gift shop and educational center before going out to stand on the path that gave you a great view of the volcanic craters below, the astronomy telescopes off to the side, the entire other half of the island of Maui at your back, and the ocean all around us which was peppered with other tiny islands.
Everybody was standing in the pre-dawn light staring in the direction where the sun would make its first appearance. Since we were standing on the top of the mountain, at an elevation of 10,000 feet and above the clouds, we would get to experience the sunrise above the clouds and before anybody else on the island below us. 

The moment the sun’s rays hit the top of the mountain a native Hawaiian, standing among us in the crowd, began her song to greet the day. Her song, which was a bit like a chant, was beautiful and strong and everybody else was silent as the power of the woman’s voice enchanted us all in this shared cultural experience. The top of Haleakala is sacred to the Hawaiian natives and, I am happy to report, the crowd was respectful of that. We were greeting the sun as it broke over the horizon and struck our faces, the island below us still in darkness. 

Additional notes: Haleakala is so much more than it’s sunrise experience, but that was the sole purpose of my journey up the mountain that day. Haleakala National Park also has a large network of hiking trails for experienced hikers and the roadway is very popular for cycling. This type of cycling personally scares me. They share the same switchback, narrow roads as cars  and every bicycle was fully equipped with a set of disc brakes, necessary for the speedy trip down. 

Resource: To find park admission costs, or hiking, climate, and cultural information visit the national park website: https://www.nps.gov/hale/planyourvisit/summit-area.htm 

Update: As of 2017, pre-purchased tickets are necessary to visit Haleakala at Sunrise due to its continued popularity and limited parking.