A restorative for mind and body, Maui's Hana coast delivers black-sand beaches, plunging waterfalls—and a doozy of a drive.

Peel a fresh mango purchased from a roadside stand, get ukulele music going on the radio, and embark on one of Hawaii's great drives: the Hana Highway on the island of Maui. On your left will be the azure ocean; on your right, rushing waterfalls, limpid pools, patches of taro plants, and luxuriant jungles of bamboo and fruit trees. But this highway serves up more than beauty: It's an impressive feat of engineering, dug out of Maui's precipitous eastern coastline with hand tools. Clinging to the cliffs, it slinks around some 600 curves and across 59 bridges (over half of which are just one lane wide). This serpentine coastal route offers a perfect antidote to the vagaries of mainland winters—and a complete escape from daily life.

Overview
Unspooling along 52 sinuous miles of Maui's eastern coast, this route runs from Kahului to the town of Hana. "The drive is a cliff hanger that strains many a driver's equanimity," says writer Jerry Camarillo Dunn, Jr. In fact a four-wheel-drive is recommended, as are occasional stops to avoid car sickness. The reward? "The modern world seems distant," says Dunn, "everyday cares fade into a papaya-colored sunset, and tensions simply blow away in the trade wind."

Start in Kahului
The largest community on Maui and site of the island's main airport, Kahului sits in the middle of the north coast. Not a prime tourist destination, its attractions include the Alexander and Baldwin Sugar Museum, which is adjacent to Hawaii's largest working sugar factory; and the Maui Arts and Cultural Center, which offers live performances of everything from slack key guitar and hula to ballet and taiko drumming.

Garden of Eden and Botanical Arboretum
A bit past mile marker 10 is the Garden of Eden Arboretum and Botanical Garden, a lush 25-acre tract known as the site of the opening sequence of the film Jurassic Park. Highlights include native and indigenous Hawaiian plant species—such as a collection of Ti plants—and exotic flora from tropical rain forests and the islands of the Pacific. Kids will enjoy the ducks, chicken, and geese that roam the landscape.

Lower Puohokamoa Falls
Around mile marker 11 look for a pullout along the road. A path leads to the dramatic Lower Puohokamoa waterfall, which plummets 130 feet. The upper waterfall, across the road, is more modest but still worth a look. A fun extra: A swim in the cool waterfall pools.