Sugar cane cultivation, once the primary industry in the Hawaiian islands, has died everywhere except on the island of Maui, where thousands of acres remain under cultivation, and one lone mill still refines sugar in Puunene just outside of Kahului. Sugar cane has been criticized as a water glutton but "a ton of water for a pound of sugar" no longer remains true. With the introduction of drip system irrigation, the ratio is more along the lines of a ton of water for a ton of sugar cane. sWhile sugar uses enough water to supply a city of one million people, the industry built and maintains the water system that transformed the desert Central Valley. Until the later 1800s, this valley consisted primarily of barren sand dunes between the island’s two extinct volcanoes - Haleakala to the east and the West Maui Mountains to the west.
Experience the Haleakala Crater Bike Tour with Mountain Riders. Ride from the 7000 foot level of Haleakala Crater downhill with professional Maui tour guides. You will see the West Maui mountains and the South Maui coast, as you journey thru Maui's small upcountry communities of Makawao, Hailiimaile and Paia.