Kapalua

[Table of Contents | Previous Category]

Please use 'Back' on your browser to return to this page from the following links.

Kapalua Today:

Driving north on the Honoapiilani Highway to Kapalua, (only 15-20 minutes from Ka`anapali and Lahaina), you gradually leave the hotel and condo areas, the sugarcane fields and traffic, and enter a cool, breezy land of pineapple fields and Norfolk Pines. The Kapalua Bay Hotel and the Ritz Carlton are perched above the white sand beaches of Kapalua Bay and Oneloa Bay. It is quiet and peaceful here, beautifully landscaped and luxurious, and slightly cooler and wetter than Lahaina. The swimming is safe and the snorkeling good. There are three 18 hole championship golf courses, and several fine restaurants. The West Maui Airport is about a mile away

Kapalua The Past:

In ancient times there was a large settlement of Hawaiians here, growing taro and fishing. The Honokahua Burial grounds were unearthed when the Ritz Carlton was being built. Some 900 remains were found, dating back as far as 600 A.D. Today the site is protected and maintained.. Nearby is a section of the Kings Trail, that in ancient times circled the whole island. The Honolua Ranch raised beef here in the 1800’s. Around the turn of the century pineapples were introduced, and a large plantation community developed. The 1930 Honolua General Store from that era, still operates. Kapalua Bay Hotel resort area opened in 1979, and more recently the Ritz Carlton encompassing a total of 1500 acres.

Future Plans:

Maui Land & Pineapple is developing an enclosure in the West Maui mountains above Kapalua for KoKo the famous gorilla who communicates with sigh language. Two male gorillas are slated to join Koko in the 70 acre preserve, when it opens in 1998..

[Table of Contents | Previous Category]