“How sweet the morning air is! See how that one little cloud floats like a pink feather from some gigantic flamingo. Now the red rim of the sun pushes itself over the London cloud-bank. It shines on a good many folk, but on none, I dare bet, who are on a stranger errand than you and I. How small we feel with our petty ambitions and strivings in the presence of the great elemental forces of Nature!”
― Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories, Volume I
Watching sunrise at Haleakalā, Maui is going to be one of the most beautiful experiences of your life. You stand still there as you see the darkness of the night vanishing in front of you in the most magnificent way you would have ever seen. Its fascinating to watch the sun rising from the clouds below you as it changes colors from pink to red to orange in matter of minutes and simultaneously the sky above changes colors from black to grey to blue.
In its native language, Haleakalā means "House of the Sun".
The best place to watch the sunrise is at the summit which is 10,023 ft high. The summit is easily accessible via a well maintained two-way Haleakalā Highway. The 38 miles highway is well marked, but its a steep and winding drive. It has very limited parking spots, you need to get there early if you want to get a spot. There's also a lower parking lot at Haleakala national park visitor center (about .7 miles before the summit) which has a larger parking capacity and offers somewhat similar sunrise views.
Google maps location of the summit: Haleakalā National Park, Kula, HI, 20.710103, -156.252871
Current Weather conditions
Many of the popular beach resorts are on the west side of Maui. If you are staying in one of those, it takes at least 2.5hrs to reach summit from there. From Kahului airport (OGG) it takes under 2 hrs to reach Summit. If its a peak season, add traffic time in addition to waiting for paying vehicle entrance fees ($10) at the park entrance. Its not uncommon for people to leave at about 2:30 am to watch the sunrise.
I would highly recommend reaching early to secure a spot inside the observatory in order to beat the cold and wind. The picture on the left shows how crowded it can get and this was not even the peak season. However, don't worry too much about reaching earlier than others. You see couple of folks on top the hill in the left upper corner of the picture, that's where you want to be. This is about 0.2 miles hike from the visitor center, takes about 10 mins to reach there. Most of the guided tour folks don't go there, you can get a pretty good view from up there. That's a great spot to fix up your tripod as well.
To get the most of the whole experience, try to reach at a time when its completely dark. If you are into star gazing, you will probably see one of the most stunning night sky ever. This location is one of the few spots in the world which is this easily accessible and has a really clear sky. Its just fascinating to watch the incredible phenomenon of the sky changing colors from pitch dark to bright blue within an hour.
― Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories, Volume I
Watching sunrise at Haleakalā, Maui is going to be one of the most beautiful experiences of your life. You stand still there as you see the darkness of the night vanishing in front of you in the most magnificent way you would have ever seen. Its fascinating to watch the sun rising from the clouds below you as it changes colors from pink to red to orange in matter of minutes and simultaneously the sky above changes colors from black to grey to blue.
In its native language, Haleakalā means "House of the Sun".
Getting there
The best place to watch the sunrise is at the summit which is 10,023 ft high. The summit is easily accessible via a well maintained two-way Haleakalā Highway. The 38 miles highway is well marked, but its a steep and winding drive. It has very limited parking spots, you need to get there early if you want to get a spot. There's also a lower parking lot at Haleakala national park visitor center (about .7 miles before the summit) which has a larger parking capacity and offers somewhat similar sunrise views.
Location
Google maps location of the summit: Haleakalā National Park, Kula, HI, 20.710103, -156.252871
Google maps location of lower parking at Haleakala national park visitor center: Haleakalā National Park, Kula, HI 20.714737, -156.250619
Google maps link: https://goo.gl/maps/pxaIv
On the right is a picture of the Summit which is very close to Haleakalā High Altitude Observatory Site. This picture was taken from the lower parking lot.
Weather
As a general rule, the temperature decreases by about 3.3 degrees Fahrenheit for every 1,000 feet up you go in elevation. At 10,000 ft it can get really cold and windy - be prepared. Take some warm cloths and hot coffee in a thermos.Current Weather conditions
What time should I leave
Many of the popular beach resorts are on the west side of Maui. If you are staying in one of those, it takes at least 2.5hrs to reach summit from there. From Kahului airport (OGG) it takes under 2 hrs to reach Summit. If its a peak season, add traffic time in addition to waiting for paying vehicle entrance fees ($10) at the park entrance. Its not uncommon for people to leave at about 2:30 am to watch the sunrise.
Sunrise
To get the most of the whole experience, try to reach at a time when its completely dark. If you are into star gazing, you will probably see one of the most stunning night sky ever. This location is one of the few spots in the world which is this easily accessible and has a really clear sky. Its just fascinating to watch the incredible phenomenon of the sky changing colors from pitch dark to bright blue within an hour.
Before the sunrise, you will see a warm orange light appearing in the distance beneath the clouds. Within next few mins you will see a golden line on the horizon.
Shortly after, you will see a bright light spot and the golden light on the horizon becomes even more prominent. The photograph above and below are 40 secs apart.
If you are standing with the crowd, these two minutes is the timeframe when you hear most of the clicks and 'wows' . Just a minute later, more than half of the sun is above the clouds.
Finally, here's a pic of the full sphere above the clouds. From this point on its dangerous to look at the sun directly with naked eye.
This marks the end of this celestial phenomenon. From here on, take some time to roam around and see breathtaking views of the Haleakala crater.