Father Damien’s Leper Colony. Now This Is a Tour Not Everyone Has an Opportunity to See!

Jun 29, 2021 | General Information

The location of Father Damien’s Leper Colony was chosen because of its remoteness. Leprosy, or Hansen’s Disease, was communicable and it was important that those infected by it would be separate from others in society. It is located on the Kalaupapa Peninsula on the northern shore of Molokai protected on one side by an often rough ocean and on the other by a huge 2000′ wall of cliffs that are so steep that they can only be traversed via a thin and winding trail that is carved into its vertical escarpments.

Its remote location, in a similar sense, prevents Father Damien’s Leper Colony from being over-run by visitors as even in this day and age it requires some amount of effort to get there. A very few fit and hearty individuals can brave the trail both down and up again along the cliffs and there is virtually no tourist activity arriving at the peninsula via the ocean. The most logical way to approach Kalaupapa for a visit is by an air tour that will land at a small airstrip located at the colony.
Choosing to visit Kalaupapa by air has its side benefits as well. The coastline of 2000′ cliffs along the north shore of Molokai is rivaled perhaps only by the Na Pali Coastline on Kauai for its rugged and breathtaking beauty. These jungle laden slopes drop straight down to the ocean and are purported to have the highest free-falling waterfalls descending into the ocean of any place on Earth.

Once you have arrived at Kalaupapa you will be treated to a tour of the tiny peninsula on a tour vehicle. This tour will prove to be heart-wrenching to most visitors as they visit the site of the church, the hospital and begin to understand the wonders of the community that was created here for those unfortunate few who were provided for by Father Damien and his dedicated staff. Old photos are on display in the museums which prove to be a testament to the humanity and strength of human spirit that was found on this isolated location in the last part of the 19th and the first part of the 20th century. For all the hardships you realize must have been endured here your heart will be lifted by the surroundings which are such a beautiful and mesmerizing creation of nature.