Hana is a village of about 800 inhabitants in one of the most thinly-populated districts in the whole of Hawaii. Its isolated position has enabled it to maintain an image of the Hawaii that existed before the invasion of mass tourism - idyllic with lush fields and gardens, thanks to the plentiful rains, characteristic of the east coasts of all
the Hawaiian islands.
Its proximity to Hawaii gave Hana great strategic importance during the battles for unification of the Hawaiian islands at the end of the 18th c. Kamehameha I used the village as a base for his decisive attack on the large neighboring island. Queen Kaahumanu, King Kamehameha I's wife, was born in Hana in 1768. After Kamehameha's death she remained as the reigning monarch of Hawaii until 1832.