A Trip To This Remote Hawaiian Island Will Fuel Your Wanderlust

As the most isolated population center in the world, Hawaii is as about remote and wild as it gets. But you won’t feel that way if you’re hanging out in Waikiki. No, you have to get further off the grid - specifically, to the tiny, gorgeous and untamed island of Molokai. The fifth largest Hawaiian Island at just 260 square miles located east of Oahu and north of Lanai, Molokai was just named one of National Geographic’s "17 of the World’s Most Wild and Beautiful Places."

At Only In Your State, we’re thrilled with the attention Molokai is getting - and it certainly doesn’t get much more wild or beautiful than this small slice of unrivaled Hawaiian paradise.

Measuring in at just ten miles wide, Molokai is home to more than 100 miles of shoreline, breathtaking waterfalls, beaches that stretch on for miles, culturally-significant historic sites, and the world’s tallest sea cliffs.

There’s one thing you won’t find on this tiny island: a single traffic light.

Molokai lies 25 miles east of Oahu across the Kaiwi Channel, and just north of Lanai, separated by the Kalohi Channel.

According to National Geographic, “Some say Molokai is what the Hawaiian Islands looked like 50 years ago; others say this is what the world should strive to look like in the future.”

Molokai is perhaps most known for its history of leprosy colonies at both Kalawao and Kalaupapa.

With the ocean on one side and giant 1,600-foot cliffs on the other, the Kalawao and Kalaupapa Leper Colonies are described by Robert Louis Stevenson as a "prison fortified by nature." The settlement was established in 1866 and operated until 1969. Kalaupapa is now a U.S. National Park, and home to a dwindling population, those of whom are outnumbered exponentially by those in the cemetery – where an estimated 2,000 graves lie unmarked, in addition to those with headstones.

Luckily, that’s not all the island is known for: it has also been a major hub for cattle ranching, pineapple production, and tourism.

Let’s just look at a few of the magnificent places you can experience on Molokai:

There’s the stunning Papalaua Falls, cascading through the mountains on Molokai’s north shore from 1,200 feet above sea level.

You also have the breathtaking Papohaku Beach, a true wonder to behold.

Papohaku Beach is probably the closest you will ever get to the deserted tropical island paradise you’ve been dreaming of. Whether you want to get away from the world and relax, or catch some world-class waves, Papohaku Beach seems to go on for miles.

And seriously, can we just admire the incredible sea cliffs that tower over the ocean?

Molokai’s sea cliffs, which reach heights of 2,000 feet, are the highest in the world.

Wild and beautiful indeed. Have you visited Molokai? If not, what’s stopping you? I think after the stress of the United States presidential election season and the upcoming holidays, we could all use a little getaway.