1 minute read
Discover Curaçao
171 square miles Highest point: Christoffelberg, 1,220 feet
At Curaçao’s northwestern tip, Christoffelpark — named for the mountain at its heart — is both a reserve for the island’s most biodiverse region, and the setting for outdoor adventures on its rocky trails traversing the distinctive thorny divi-divi forest. Look out for thickets of towering cactus and rare orchids like the Lady-of-the-Night, with its delicate fragrance. Orioles and hummingbirds lend flashes of colour, wild deer and rabbits scamper away, and you can’t avoid spotting one of Curaçao’s ubiquitous iguanas. As you climb Christoffelberg, clambering past huge boulders, views open up across the surrounding valleys to the shimmering sea. Nearby Shete Boka National Park — the name is Papiamentu for “seven inlets” — covers six miles of coast, from jagged limestone cliffs and arches to tiny coves where sea turtles nest. Don’t miss Boka Tabla, where waves crash spectacularly into an underground cavern, reminding you of the sheer power of the sea.
The summit of Christoffelberg looms above Curaçao’s largest national park.
Gail Johnson/Shutterstock.com
The summit of Christoffelberg looms above Curaçao’s largest national park.
Gail Johnson/Shutterstock.com
Curaçao’s limestone geology is riddled with natural caves and tunnels.
Bruno van der Kraan, courtesy Unsplash
