Kalaupapa, Hawai‘i, is a small village on the island of Moloka‘i in the state of Hawai‘i, and part of Kalawao County.

The village is located on a peninsula at the base of cliffs on the Kalaupapa Peninsula. These cliffs are the highest sea cliffs in the world, dropping about 1010 metres into the Pacific Ocean.

The village is the site of a former leper colony which was attended by Father Damien and Mother Marianne Cope, among others. At its peak, about 1,200 men, women, and children were in exile in this island prison. The isolation law was enacted by King Kamehameha V and remained in effect until 1969, when it was finally repealed. Today, 27 former sufferers of leprosy — now known as Hansen's Disease — continue to live there. The colony is now part of Kalaupapa National Historical Park.

External links

• Tayman, John (2006) The Colony: The Harrowing True Story of the Exiles of Molokai" Scribner 074323300X
• "Fear and Loathing in Hawaii: 'Colony'" (NPR Fresh Air, February 2 2006)
• "Last days of a leper colony" (CBS News article, March 22 2003)
• Jack London's "The Lepers Of Molokai"
• The Colony

Kalawao County, Hawaii