Considered part of Haiku, “Hidden Huelo” is a small gated community along the Road to Hana on Maui’s northeast coast. Huelo has been nicknamed the “little Hawaiian village forgotten by time.”
Without any commercial activity or resorts, Huelo exudes a tranquil atmosphere surrounded by lava cliffs, mountain valleys and waterfalls along with expansive ocean views. Huelo is located 480 ft (146 m) above sea level about 13 miles (21 km) from Kahului Airport, and about twenty minutes drive from Paia and the renowned windsurfing and kitesurfing beach of Hookipa.
The secluded community of Huelo is hemmed in by Hoalua and Waipo Bays. Activities in Huelo include horseback riding, snorkeling, swimming and hiking to the 127-foot (39 m) Twin Falls or along the Waikamoi Nature Trail. Nearby are the Koolau Forest Reserve and the black-sand beach of Honomanu Bay.
At the Door of Faith Road stands the Kaulanapueo Church, a historical Protestant Church built in 1853 using stone and coral. The carefully restored church features a New England architecture and is topped with a plantation-style green steeple and a gray tin roof. A small graveyard next to the church displays a history of the village in concrete.
In the past Huelo was a sugar and plantation community with a population of more than 75,000. The area shifted to cattle farming when the sugar industry in Hawaii ended. Today just a few hundred people live in the area’s scattering of homes along with some B&Bs and secluded vacation rentals.
Huelo also has some multi-million dollar oceanfront properties as well as small farms and organic gardens growing tropical fruits, herbs and vegetables.
The road to Huelo is located just past Mile Marker 4 off the Hana Hwy. where there is a double row of mailboxes next to a pay phone. Huelo means “Trail end last.”