Wailuku Tourist Attractions

The Alexander & Baldwin Sugar Museum on Maui explains the history of sugar in Hawaii and focuses on two planters who started the industry. The building that houses the Sugar Museum is the former residence of a plantation superintendent constructed in 1902.Of special interest are exhibits on the building of the aqueducts to bring water from the volcanic slopes to the central deserts of Maui. There are also artifacts from the various nationalities brought in to cut the sugar cane. Scale models of sugar factories and plantation houses as well as a collection of sugar tools are exhibited.Outside the Alexander & Baldwin Sugar Museum, there is a display of some antique heavy equipment used in sugar harvesting. Across the street is a good view of the Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company mill built in 1901 and still in operation.

In Kepaniwai Park and Heritage Gardens buildings have been erected as a tribute to Hawaii's ethnic minorities. A Portuguese villa, a Hawaiian grass hut, a New England house, a Chinese pagoda and a Japanese tea house stand as symbols of Hawaii's united nationality.Kepaniwai means water dam. The meaning can be drawn from early Hawaiian history when Kamehameha defeated the King of Maui's forces in a decisive battle and the Wailuka River was filled with the bodies of the dead soldiers.

The lovely garden, filled with Hawaiian flowers and plants, is located south of Wailuku in Waikapu Valley. Everything about the Hawaiian islands' cultivated plants can be learned here.A narrow-gauge railway runs throughout the plantation on which sugar cane, pineapples, coffee, macadamia nuts, guavas and exotic fruits are grown. Demonstrations are regularly given by experts on how to crack coconuts and how to cut open pineapples.

Iao Valley (iao is sometimes translated as "highest cloud" or "highest light") lies west of Wailuku on road 32, the continuation of Main Street, and used to be one of the old Hawaiian holy valleys. Hawaiians would undertake pilgrimages to such places in honor of their gods.Today, several well-maintained paths lead from the car park to this beautiful valley. It is a popular place for excursions.

The four-acre Tropical Gardens of Maui is at the entrance of Iao Valley. The collection includes native Hawaiian plants, some rare and endangered, plus other tropical plants from around the world. A self-guided tour leads through the hills, past the koi pond and palm grotto into the taro patches.

Kahului, home of Maui's main airport, is located east of Wailuku. The major shopping centers for Oahu residents surround the town, but tourists stay mostly in Lahaina.

The Paper Airplane Museum is a unique museum that claims to house the largest collection of paper airplanes and one of the largest collections of aviation photos.