Puʻu Kukui

Puʻu Kukui, the highest peak in the West Maui Mountains on Maui, rises 5,788 feet above a large private nature preserve. It is the remnant of an ancient volcano whose caldera was eroded into today’s ʻĪao Valley, helping create the steep, wet, isolated summit conditions. With average annual rainfall of 386.5 inches, it is among the wettest places on Earth and the third wettest in Hawaiʻi. Water pooling at the summit forms a bog with deep acidic soil and peat, supporting many endemic plants, insects, and birds, including greensword, bog-form ʻōhiʻa lehua, and lobelioids. Because this ecosystem is fragile, access is limited to researchers and conservationists.

Lahaina, Hawaii · United States