Lāhainā is the largest community in West Maui, and the gateway to the famous Kāʻanapali and Kapalua beach resorts north of it. Lahaina is a historic town that has been transformed into a Maui hot spot with dozens of art galleries and a variety of unique shops and restaurants. Once the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom in the early nineteenth century, Lahaina was also a historic whaling village during the whaling boom of the mid-1800’s.