Molokai

Molokai has around seven thousand residents and no resorts - Molokai Ranch closed its hotel, golf course and other resort operations in 2008 - and its economy has long rested on ranching, pineapple, sugar and small farms. Many residents keep a way of life built on Native Hawaiian subsistence practice. The north coast has sea cliffs that reach around a thousand metres, among the highest in the world. On the peninsula below sits Kalaupapa, where people with Hansen's disease were forcibly isolated from 1866 until the law was repealed in 1969; Father Damien worked and died there. Access is restricted and permitted.

What's there

• No resorts - tourism is a small part of island life.
• Sea cliffs around a thousand metres - among the world's highest.
• Kalaupapa - the isolation settlement, access by permit only.
• A largely Native Hawaiian population - with subsistence practice continuing.

When to go

Year round. Several days.

Before you go

There is very little tourism infrastructure - that is the point. Kalaupapa access has been closed or heavily restricted for extended periods, including for the residents' protection. The mule trail down has been shut after landslides. Visitors are guests and are expected to behave as such.

Nearby

Maui is across the channel; Lanai is south-west.

Key facts