UPCOUNTRY MAUI

         Haleakala Crater   

Mt. Haleakala, also known as East Maui Volcano, forms more than 75% of  the Island of Maui,  and is a dormant volcano that sits about 10,000 feet above sea level.  It last erupted in the late 1700’s. The Hawaiian translation for Haleakala is “house of the sun.”

The district of Kula is located on the western-facing slopes of Mt. Haleakala.  Most people refer to Kula, as well as the areas of Pukalani to Ulupalakua, as “UpCountry Maui.”  The word Kula means “open meadows” in the Hawaiian language. 

Kula is known for its rich, loamy soil.  The diversity of this area’s weather allows farmers to grow vegetable crops such as onions, corn, lettuce and potatoes, yielding as many as three to four harvests per year which are usually grown in the lower, warmer areas of Kula.

Fruit crops of persimmons, apples, citrus, peaches, avocados, and more, as well as cut flowers like protea, lavender and carnations, to name a few, are grown in the upper Kula elevations where the climate is cooler.  And for several years now farmers have been planting olive orchards for oil pressings. 

Ranchers raise beef cattle, elk, horses, pigs, goats and sheep on the vast open grazing pasture lands of UpCountry
where the grass is usually green and lush.  

You may even see a family of francolins, beautifully plumed Chinese ring-necked pheasants, axis deer, wild turkeys, and of course the usual chickens wandering along the roadsides.