Kalaupapa - Hawaii's Little Known Leper Colony - Part 1 of 2

Part 1/2
Kalaupapa is pretty much the Northern tip of Moloka’i and most people have never heard about it. The settlement was established in 1866. For approximately a 100 years this was an active leper colony. If you got the disease and ended up there you could never leave. You would simply live and die at Kalaupapa.
There are no roads leading in to Kalaupapa. Ships are not allowed to come closer to the shore than a quarter of a mile. The colony is approximately 4 by 4 miles is size and is surrounded by 2,000 feet tall sea cliffs (the tallest in the world) creating a natural fence. There used to be an annual supply ship.
Over the years over 8,000 people died of leprosy at this location. The area is isolated and closed to visit unless you have a permit. Children under 16 are not allowed.
Today there are still a few former patients living at Kalaupapa and they are allowed to live out their days at the settlement.
The lepers had to live on the Eastern side of the peninsula in Kalawao. Most of their homes are all gone and former empty land is now full grown with trees. The remaining main structure is Father Damien’s church built of melted coral.
Father Damien contracted the disease and died at the location in 1889.