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UNITED STATES | Molokai, Hawaii Travel Guide
Friday, April 26, 2024
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Kalaupapa Peninsula
Kalaupapa Peninsula
The Kalaupapa Peninsula is situated along the central part of Molokai’s rugged north shore, surrounded on three sides by ocean and on the fourth by 2,000-foot- high sea cliffs—the highest in the world. The peninsula itself was created by the Kauhako volcano, the crater of which can be seen at the southeast end of the peninsular tract.
A Brief History of Kalaupapa Peninsula
The Kalaupapa Peninsula is best-known as the site of Hawaii’s infamous leper colony. Beginning in 1866, victims of the disease of leprosy were banished to this desolate corner of the island—a natural prison. In 1873, Father Damien de Veuster, a Belgian priest, arrived at Kalaupapa and devoted himself to the care of the lepers; but in 1884, he, too, contracted the disease, and five years later, in 1889, he died at the age of 49. Father Damien’s work was carried on by Mother Marianne, who arrived at Kalaupapa in 1888, and lived and worked there tirelessly until her death at the age of 80. By the 1940s the discovery and introduction of sulfone drugs had rendered leprosy—or Hansen’s Disease—curable and no longer contagious, and so a few years later the inhabitants of Kalaupapa were cured and free to leave at their choosing. Most, however, chose to stay, for Kalaupapa was the only home they had known for much of their lives.
Exploring Kalaupapa Peninsula
Kalaupapa is now a National Historical Park, but one where the public is not permitted to wander unsupervised, as some 80 former patients still live there. However, visitors can take guided van tours of the settlement and the peninsula, taking in the Kalaupapa grounds and buildings, including a 1900’s store and one or two dispensaries, as well as the white, steepled St Philomena Church, built by Father Damien in 1872. On the tour you can also see other churches—Catholic, Protestant, Mormon—mostly dating from the 19th century, and visit the grassy Kalawao Park on the east side of the peninsula, overlooking the ocean and the north coast of the island. Also on the tour is a stop at the Kalaupapa museum-cum-bookstore, which has old photos recounting the history of Kalaupapa and its inhabitants, and books on Father Damien, Mother Marianne, and Kalaupapa.
Kalaupapa can be reached either on foot by hiking down from the Pala’au State Park some 1,600 feet—which takes approximately an hour down to the peninsula and one and a half hours back up—or on a scheduled flight directly to the Kalaupapa Airfield.
Last updated December 26, 2010
Posted in United States | Molokai
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