Tags
East Maui, Haleakala National Park, Hawaii, Hawaii travel, Kipahulu, landscape photography, Maui, Maui photography, Maui travel, O'heo Gulch, photography, Road to Hana, Seven Sacred Pools, travel
Aside from visiting Hana another reason we wanted to drive the road to Hana was to continue past Hana to a place called O’heo Gulch or Seven Sacred Pools. The road to Hana is known as a crazy drive along a seemingly endless windy road through dense rainforest with more than 60 one lane bridges and many narrow sections; but let me tell you, the road to Hana doesn’t shake a stick at how treacherous the road from Hana to the Gulch is. The road is one lane wide the entire way with completely blind corners and sheer cliffs off one side and steep rock wall on the other. We had heard that honking your horn prior to going around the corners was the best way of warning others that you were coming; that would’ve been fine but the car company had disabled our horn because honking in Hawaii is considered rude. I’m totally not exaggerating when I say I was scared for my life! Having said that, it was definitely worth the white knuckle ride once we arrived.
There are more than seven pools (in fact there are over 20) which receive heavy amounts of rain water from the back slopes of Haleakala. The pools flow from one to another interconnected by small waterfalls and the bottom one empties directly into the ocean. We truly lucked out with beautiful weather, while our friends had made the trip a couple days prior and had been caught in a torrential downpour which lasted a full hour. Weather on this side of the island is very unpredictable and can change within minutes. As a result of heavy rain and high water levels from previous days we weren’t allowed to swim in the pools as you could easily be swept out to sea. Instead, we wandered around the park and stood in awe of how beautiful it was. I was astonished at the size of the waves; they were the biggest I’ve ever seen! My husband absolutely loved it and said that he’d discovered his favorite place on earth!
Similar to my last post, there are a ton of photos of this beautiful area! I hope you enjoy them!
Please note: If you’d like to share any of my photos please let me know!
If you’ve missed any of my previous posts about Maui, you can see them here.
Pearls & Lace 
beautiful, drove the road to hana in the 80’s so i can only imagine what craziness you faced on the further drive to O’heo Gulch
Yea the road is pretty crazy, but I think it was worth it! From what I’ve heard that road isn’t even close to how bad the road that continues around the island is. Thankfully we decided not to drive it! Thanks for commenting!
Jen
Wow, so beautiful and peaceful. I’ve always wanted to go there, it’s on the top of my list!
xo, Yi-chia
Always Maylee
It’s truly breathtaking! It’s so lush and green and the views are amazing, you’ll love it!! xo
Oh my goodness, that waterfall! This entire trip seems so romantic!
-Alyssa
The Glossy Life
The whole area is gorgeous!! The waterfalls are so pretty, I really wish we could have swam in the pools, but you never know what the weather is going to be like there. I’m just thankful the weather was beautiful!
We drove the Hana Hwy last year but gave up a few miles past the pools as it was getting a bit hairy from there. Beautiful drive, though.
We did some research into driving all the way around the island, and although the scenery looked amazing, it was a little too dangerous for our liking. I would have loved to drive a little past the Gulch to see Lindbergh’s Grave but sadly we ran out of time. Thanks for checking out my blog and commenting! Yours is very interesting and I enjoyed reading a number of your posts on CFS.
Jen
We went to Lindbergh’s grave — I thought that was before the pools? All I remember is that a few miles past the pools my wife said enough is enough and we turned around. It felt like the cliff was going to fall right on us. Crazy road.
I think it’s a mile or two past the pools, so they’re pretty close to one another. That road sounds ridiculous! I’m sure you were glad to turn around!
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What a gorgeous place! I would have been scared to DEATH on a road like that, I can only imagine what that was like. But it looks totally worth it…what a great adventure.
Stephanie
It was so scary, but we couldn’t have been rewarded with a more beautiful place! The views are truly stunning, there aren’t many places that we’ve traveled that compare.
jen xo
I love Oheo Gulch! Kipahulu area is a great place to camp also!
I’ve heard that as well. Maybe on our next trip we’ll give that a try!
Beautiful pictures! We just decided to go to Hawaii next month- I’ll definitely be consulting you blog for planning purposes! I remember my family attempting the Road to Hanna several years ago. I was in the back seat- extremely car sick… we didn’t make it all the way there
I’m so jealous, I can’t wait to go back! Are you going to Maui again? I can only imagine how sick you felt in the back seat, I wouldn’t have made it either!
xo jen
Yes, we haven’t booked anything yet but we’re looking in the Wailea area.
Wailea was absolutely gorgeous! That’s actually where we got married! We were married at the Wailea Golf Club and stayed at the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa. I would highly recommend the area, you’ll never want to leave! And you must check out the shops at Wailea, they’re amazing!
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Were hoping to do the Road to Hanna this year…I get car sick pretty easy so am definitely nervous. Would you say its a full day trip?