Hanalei Valley lookout provides a spectacular bird's-eye view of the valley floor with its spread of patchwok taro fields. Prior to Western contact, the valley was planted in taro, but in the mid-1800s rice paddies were planted to feed the Chinese laborers working in the cane fields. And it became a major export crop. The demand for rice eventually waned. What you see is only 5% of that original acreage planted in taro.