Kula Botanical Garden

We found a brochure for the Kula Botanical Garden at one of the many strategically placed brochure/advertisement locations (they are everywhere). We wanted to check out one of the tropical gardens during our trip, and decided this looked like the one we wanted to see. It is located in the area known as upcountry, on the way to the Haleakala Crater. As we were only a few days into our trip, we were quite happy to find the temperature was a fair bit cooler up there as well, as we were not yet used to the Hawaiian heat. Admission for the self-guided tour was $10 per person – it was well worth it. You can also take a guided tour, but we just wanted to wander about and check it out for ourselves.

The view from the visitor center is very good, looking out across central Maui:

Parking might be a bit of an issue during busier times, as their lot was rather small, and the map they give you is a bit confusing at first. But those were my only complaints. Once we entered the grounds we were quite happy with the diversity of flowers and plants. There is a main trail running through the grounds. It has a number of side routes that all end up back at the main trail. There are a number of tiki’s throughout the grounds as well:

There is a Wedding tab on their website. The large grassy field is the main locations for larger weddings. The website says it can accomodate up to 150 seated guests. It is surrounded by trees and flowers, and also has a nice view of Central Maui through the trees.

Another potential wedding location would be one of the two gazebos. The large gazebo shown below was our favorite, as it was overlooked a bit of a canyon, with a duck pond at the bottom:

There was also a Koi Pond, that was very popular with the children visiting the park that day:

We were more interested in the flowers however, and they certainly did not dissapoint:

Here are some of the amazing photos Shauna took at the Kula Botanical Garden:

We had a great time walking throughout the grounds here, and were very happy we decided to visit the Kula Botanical Gardens. It is a bit out of the way, but well worth it. It would also make a good stop on the way up to the Haleakala summit for a day trip – for those who dont want to get up early enough to catch the sunrise.

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