Kalaupapa
The "backside" of Molokai is a rugged wilderness of spectacular beauty. On the outskirts of Kaunakakai, the land rises gradually from sea-level fish ponds to cool uplands and the Molokai Forest, long ago stripped of sandalwood for the China trade. All that remains is an indentation in the earth that natives shaped like a ship’s hull, a crude matrix that gave them a rough idea of when they’d cut enough sandalwood to fill a ship (it’s identified on some maps as Luanamokuiliahi, or Sandalwood Boat).
The land inclines sharply to the mighty mountains and the mile-high summit of Mount Kamakou, then ends abruptly with emerald-green cliffs, which plunge into a lurid breathtaking 3,250-foot sea cliffs, the highest in the world, stretch 14 majestic miles along Molokai’s north shore, laced by waterfalls and creased by five valleys — Halawa, Papalaua, Wailau, Pelekunu, and Waikolu — once occupied by early Hawaiians who built stone terraces and used waterfalls to irrigate taro patches. Long after the sea cliffs were formed, a tiny volcano erupted out of the sea and spread lava into a flat, leaf-like peninsula called Kalaupapa — the 1860s leper exile where Father Damien de Veuster of Belgium devoted his life to care for the afflicted. A few people remain in the remote colony by choice, keeping it tidy for the daily company that arrives on mules and by small planes. Kalaupapa National Historical Park was established on December 22, 1980. Still in its formative years, it is dedicated to the past, the present and the future. It is dedicated to preserving the memories and experiences of the past in order that valuable lessons might be learned from them. Within its boundaries are the historic settlements of Kalaupapa and Kalawao.
In Kalawao on the windward side of the peninsula are the churches of Siloama, established in 1866, and Saint Philomena, associated with the work of Father Damien (Joseph De Veuster).
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