Moaula Falls (Molokai [Maui County], Hawaii, USA)

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Moaula Falls (Moa'ula Falls)

Moaula Falls (or Moa'ula Falls) is one of two major waterfalls nestled in the back of the legendary Halawa Valley on the eastern end of Moloka'i. We managed to see this waterfall both by helicopter (from Maui) or by hiking. We had to book through a guided cultural hike to do the hiking option because Halawa Valley is private property.

The main visible plunges of Moa'ula Falls is said to drop a total of 250ft. But from seeing the falls from the air, it was clear that there were many more tiers that belong to the Moa'ula Stream and waterfalls. I believe this waterfall is permanent as the drainages feeding the Halawa Valley have not been tampered with by mass developments yet (we hope it stays that way).

The cultural hike that we did wasn't cheap, but it was certainly a very fulfilling way to spend the half-day or so of our day trip to Moloka'i from O'ahu.

The group crossing the stream From this cultural hike, we learned that money from the hike helps to restore traditional taro farming (once a very important part of Moloka'i culture dating back to the island's original settlement by Polynesians from the Marquesas Islands (now French Polynesia) in the 7th century). For reasons detailed in the tours (i.e. economic, cultural, modernization, etc.), the taro farming and local cultural traditions had been threatened with extinction in recent decades.

The hike we did was a pretty easy 4.5 miles return across mostly flat terrain with two stream crossings and annoying mosquitoes that swarm during breaks. The guided hike to Moaula Falls begins at 9:30am and usually ends at 2:30 p.m.

Directions: There's a little bit of logistics we had to manage ourselves in order to go on the cultural hike. We first did it by figuring out when the tour was offered and hoped the weather would cooperate. We then searched to see if we could do one of the frequent day flights from O'ahu to Moloka'i and back in a day for the tour day.

Once on Moloka'i, an island with stop signs but no traffic lights, we picked up our tour paperwork at the Moloka'i Fish and Dive shop in Kaunakakai. We drove to the Fish and Dive shop from Moloka'i's Ho'olehua Airport by turning left (east) onto Hwy 460 and drove 9 miles to Kaunakakai. In Kaunakakai, we turned left at Ala Malama Ave (we noticed a gas station at the street corner on the left) and found the Moloka'i Fish and Dive shop (opened at 8am when we went).

We had to pickup the tour paperwork in Kaunakakai by 8:15am to ensure arrival in the Halawa Valley by 9:15-9:30am. As we left Kaunakakai heading east, Hwy 460 became Hwy 450. It took us about an hour for the 28-mile drive from Kaunakakai to Halawa Valley Park where the hike started. The scenic drive featured ingenious fish ponds (strategic openings that take advantage of the East Shore high tides to capture saltwater fish as well as to facilitate breeding) as well as a few hairy stretches of narrow road where we could envision waves crashing onto the road every once in a while. On the final descent into the valley, there's also a lookout providing very distant views of Hipuapua Falls.

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Road descending into Halawa Valley

Taro farm

On the cultural hike in the bush

View of Moa'ula Falls from further downstream View of Moaula Falls from further downstream

View of Moa'ula Falls and the large plunge pool View of Moaula Falls and the large plunge pool (supposedly where Mo'o lives)

All the tiers of Moa'ula Falls as seen from the air

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