Olowalu, HI

Olowalu is a west Maui coastal community about four miles south of Lahaina along Honoapiilani Highway. Its setting follows the traditional ahupuaa pattern from the high slopes near Pu'u Kukui down through Olowalu Valley to the outer reef. Dryland taro and breadfruit groves once supported a substantial Native Hawaiian farming community, and the valley's mountain-to-sea shape still matters when placing Olowalu on Maui's map. The old trail over Olowalu Pass also linked the valley with the interior of the island.

ATTRdronepicr / CC BY 2.0

The area also carries a difficult history. The 1790 massacre and the labor-intensive sandalwood trade contributed to the decline of the older community, while sugarcane later changed the valley's land use. Today the name Olowalu is tied to cultural preservation at Kipuka Olowalu and to the reef offshore. The U.S. Geological Survey has mapped the reef's benthic habitat as a conservation priority site, while local restoration work uses the ahupuaa as a guide. Olowalu is best read as one connected valley, with farms, slopes, highway, shoreline, and reef all part of the same place.