Mule Ride to Kalaupapa
As you crest the top of a windswept cliff on your noble steed, you survey the surf crashing almost 2000 feet down the precariously narrow trail before you. Summoning your courage, you take a few deep breaths and succumb to the promise of an unforgettable adventure.
Tip:
The tour is offered by the Molokai Mule company and includes admission to Kalaupapa, the guided tour, and lunch. Be sure to call ahead for reservations.
It may sound like a scene from a Hollywood movie, but it’s all true. Except for the noble steed part. You’ll be riding atop a mule. But trust us, by the end of the trip you’ll realize how noble your sure-footed new friend really is.
Your destination is one of the world’s great humanitarian sites, the colony at Kalaupapa. In the late 19th century, the Kalaupapa Peninsula was established as a natural refuge (or isolated prison, depending on how you look at it) for victims of Hansen’s disease (then known as leprosy.) In 1873, the Belgian Priest Father Damien famously arrived here to care for the sick, until he himself died from the disease in 1889. In the early 1980’s the site was designated a National Park, with restricted access granted to a limited number of visitors.
The narrow trail down to Kalaupapa has 26 switchbacks, each offering breathtaking 180 degree ocean vistas. The journey is exhilarating, and combined with the informative and often moving guided tour of the colony, makes for an adventure like no other.
The 1700-foot decent, the colony tour, lunch, and the return trip take about 7 hours in total.
