GUNUNG · Amerika Serikat

Haleakalā

Haleakalā (bahasa Hawaii: 'rumah matahari')

Information

Elevation: 3.055 m
Country: Amerika Serikat (US)
Location / Range: Maui Island, Hawaii, United States — Central Pacific
Mountain type: Shield volcano — dormant; forms about 75% of the island of Maui, Hawaii
Volcanic?: Yes — volcano
Coordinates: 20.7097, -156.2517
Difficulty: Moderate to Hard — the main Sliding Sands (Keoneheʻeheʻe) trail descends about 600 m into the crater from 3,055 m; the climb back feels hard due to the thin air at altitude. The Halemauʻu trail is shorter and can be combined into an 18 km loop route.
Best Season: Year-round. The relative dry season (June–October) is most stable. For sunrise, a permit must be booked 60 days ahead via recreation.gov — slots are very limited.
Permits & Rules: National Park entry: USD 30/vehicle (valid 3 days) or USD 15/person. Watching sunrise requires a sunrise permit (recreation.gov) that opens 60 days ahead. Camping at Hōlua or Palikū Cabin inside the crater requires an additional permit.
Hazards: Hypoxia and dehydration at 3,000 m; extreme temperature swings (over 30°C by day vs. near 0°C at night); strong summit winds (often ≥60 km/h); high UV from reduced ozone at altitude; sudden weather changes with thick fog; and 53 sharp switchbacks on the road to the summit.

Description

Haleakalā (3,055 m) is the highest peak on Maui Island and a massive shield volcano that literally built Maui — roughly 75% of the island's land area is Haleakalā's slope. Its Hawaiian name means 'house of the sun', a title rooted in the legend of the demigod Māui who lassoed the sun at the summit crater to make days longer. The iconic summit depression measures about 11 km across and 800 m deep, yet it is not a volcanic crater in the strict sense: two large erosional valleys merged at the summit, creating a basin that merely resembles one. The last eruption is estimated to have occurred between 1480 and 1600 CE, making Haleakalā a dormant but still-monitored volcano (USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory). Inside the 'crater' floor lie red and brown cinder cones, black volcanic sand plains, and the extraordinary silversword plant (Ahinahina) — an endemic, silver-spined species found only in Hawaii and only at high elevation. Sunrise above the cloud layer as seen from Haleakalā's summit is one of Hawaii's most iconic spectacles — so renowned that Mark Twain called it 'the sublimest spectacle I have ever witnessed.' Because of its popularity, a reservation is required 60 days in advance for entry between 03:00 and 07:00.

Gallery

Foto bersumber dari Wikimedia Commons — klik untuk memperbesar & lihat sumbernya.

Routes

Halemauʻu Trail — Tepi Kawah & Switchback

Berat

16.70 km +1000 m 6–8 jam pulang-pergi ke Hōlua Cabin

Dimulai dari trailhead 2.100 m di sisi utara, jalur ini memanjat lewat serangkaian tikungan curam (switchback) di dinding kawah sebelum mencapai tepi dan turun ke lantai kawah. Melewati Hōlua Cabin (2.500 m) dan terkenal sebagai 'salah satu tempat tersunyi di Bumi'. Bisa dikombinasikan dengan Sliding Sands Trail untuk rute satu-arah 18 km (memerlukan dua kendaraan atau shuttle).

Source

Pīpīwai Trail ke Air Terjun Waimoku (Kawasan Kīpahulu)

Sedang

5.80 km +260 m 2–3 jam pulang-pergi

Berada di kawasan Kīpahulu yang lebih hijau di pantai selatan Maui (akses via Jalan Hāna), jalur ini melewati Kolam Oheʻo (Seven Sacred Pools), menembus terowongan hutan bambu raksasa setinggi 15 m, dan berakhir di kaki Air Terjun Waimoku (120 m) — air terjun terjun tunggal tertinggi di Maui. Berbeda suasana dari kawasan summit yang kering dan vulkanik: di sini lebih lembap dan tropis.

Source

Sliding Sands Trail (Keoneheʻeheʻe) — Turun ke Kawah

Berat — udara tipis 3.000 m + tanjakan panjang saat kembali

17.70 km +900 m 5–7 jam pulang-pergi; atau 1 hari penuh untuk loop ke Halemauʻu

Jalur ikonik Haleakalā dimulai dari pusat pengunjung puncak (3.030 m) dan menuruni pasir hitam vulkanik ke dasar kawah raksasa. Medan berpasir lembut saat turun, tetapi kembali mendaki 900 m di udara tipis menjadi tantangan nyata. Pemandangan kerucut cinder merah-cokelat dan hamparan silversword (Ahinahina) — tanaman endemik Hawaii berbentuk bola duri perak — menjadi daya tarik utama. Dapat dikombinasikan sebagai loop dengan Halemauʻu Trail (18 km satu arah, memerlukan antar-jemput).

Source

Climbing Experiences

Experiences at Haleakalā fall into two main categories: watching the sunrise from the summit and hiking down into the crater via Sliding Sands Trail. Hikers describe a 'Mars-like' landscape — black volcanic sand, red cinder cones, and fields of silversword — coupled with thin air that makes the return climb far harder than expected. The sunrise theme is nearly universal: permits must be reserved far in advance, visitors gather in darkness and cold, and when the sun breaks above the cloud ocean the experience is widely cited as one of the most memorable moments in Hawaii. The Sliding Sands–Halemauʻu loop (18 km) is a serious physical challenge at 3,000 m altitude, while the Pīpīwai Trail in the Kīpahulu area offers a lush bamboo-forest contrast leading to a 120 m waterfall.

References

The summary above is compiled from the following sources. Click to explore them yourself.