Garden of Eden: Road To Hana's Most Spectacular Views
There are so many beautiful places to stop along the Road to Hana, but the Garden of Eden was my favorite stop. Find out my reasons why below.
Fun Fact: Have you seen Jurassic Park? The Garden of Eden is where the opening scene was famously shot!
Happy February everyone! I can't believe January is over already, and I feel like February is going to go even faster. Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow so that means 6 more weeks of winter.. but hey we will try to make the most of it! With all this cold, this week I wanted to talk about somewhere warm and tropical to get our minds on something else! Two Christmases ago now I went to Maui and we went on the Road To Hana. The Garden of Eden was absolutely spectacular and is a must see when doing this amazing drive.
The Road to Hana is a spectacular Maui must-do for anyone visiting the island. This 64 mile stretch has over 600 turns and if you are looking for a little break from these twists and turns, the Garden of Eden is about a third of the way in and is really so worth it. The price of admission into the Garden of Eden is $15 for adults and $5 for children and people may think there is enough views they can get for free. However, if there is one thing to pay for on this drive it would be this entrance fee. It is 26 acres of a beautiful, tropical forest. Right when you get into the parking lot, there are peacocks walking around right by the cars! They are so used to people and just continue on looking for dropped food. We began through the 2.5 mile trails and saw so many amazing things. Here is a map of the property to show how many great things there are!
Bamboo Alley
We first walked through bamboo alley which was cluttered with so many trees and they were really incredible. I am so happy we walked through this area first because it really got me into the mood of the whole tropical forest type feel. They really went on for so long and as you can tell by the picture, they have been there a long time because they were so tall! It was something I had never experienced before and really was so stunning. We also knocked on the wood and it was interesting how hollow they are. The fact that they are hallow is is something I never knew, but was a fun to learn!
Puohokamoa Falls
Right on site at the Garden of Eden is Puohokamoa Falls. It is a large, waterfall that is really worth the price of admission in itself. There are many waterfalls along the Road To Hana, but I really enjoyed seeing this one. There are multiple overlooks of the waterfall to enjoy different views. For the extreme hikers (not me, ha!), you can even go right up to it and hear the water rushing down and even get some really cool shots!
Rainbow Eucalyptus Trees
Have you heard of these crazy looking trees in Maui? They are truly something really incredible to see. As you can see in the picture, they have super distinct colors of the rainbow in them and I was really in awe of these trees. I had to look up why they did this! So Each tree displays a "rainbow" of colors at the same time because different layers on the same tree peel away at different times, revealing multiple brushstrokes of various colors (see more here!). I just stared at these trees for song long because I didn't believe they could be real, ha!!
Fresh Coconut Stand
Have you had fresh coconut before? Like someone cut it down from a tree, cut it open for you, and you drank it right from there? This was my first time! It was so fun to experience seeing them cut it down from the tree. I really enjoyed the taste of it and it was really refreshing in the Maui heat. It doesn't have to be from the Garden of Eden, but I definitely recommend trying a fresh Hawaiian coconut if you visit!
Keopuka Rock Overlook
Even with all the amazing things above, this was by far my favorite part of the Garden of Eden. There are many overlooks on site, but I definitely recommend this one. You get views of beautiful greenery, as well as the Pacific Ocean. Vince and I sat here for a good 20 to 30 minutes just taking in the views and not rushing through life in those moments. It was so calming sitting there! We were able to see a rainbow over the water as well as whales coming to the surface. It was really special to us and something we will never forget.
Maui is really is a place like nothing else. The Road to Hana is a amazing time and I loved our stop at the Garden of Eden. It gave me amazing views and experiences that I will never forget. There are those moments in life where things just are so simple, and this was one of those moments.
*GyPSy Guide has an audio tour for the Road to Hana with recommendations for the best places to stop. Check out my post on this app below!*