Christoffel National Park — Attraction in Curaçao

My review is mostly about the Christoffel mountain. TLDR: Go early, pack lightly, amazing views, but really crowded.

WHEN TO VISIT: What a climb! It's not an easy hike but it's doable and worth it. Make sure to start early - it gets really hot and the hike is tiring even without the heat. When we visited the park opened at 6 AM and you could only visit the mountain until 10 AM. We started before 7 AM and when going up we walked mostly in the shade. When we got down it was quite hot, sun was shining but some people were just starting their climb. If I were to do it again, I would go earlier. TRAIL: Make sure to use comfortable shoes (but no special hiking boots are needed) and bring some water, but overall I suggest to pack lightly. Some parts require a bit of climbing on the rocks (but nothing too serious!). It took about 45min to 1 hour one way and same time coming down. The trail is narrow and gets quite crowded. THE TOP: The views are truly amazing!! But bear in mind that the top of the mountain is quite small and very, very crowded. So don't expect a quiet peaceful atmosphere when reaching the top. Since the visiting hours are quite limited there are lots of people on a small area, everyone wants to pose for a photo, take a selfie or a video, some people are quite rude unfortunately and inconsiderate etc. REST OF THE PARK: Afterwards we visited a few more places in the park and later the museum as well, but to be honest those places where nothing compared to...

Great experience. We went on an overcast morning. You pay your fee (credit cards accepted) at a ranger station on the right side of the road and have to sign a statement that you’re fit, have sufficient water, etc. Then you drive across the road I to the park. After some ups and downs and sideways driving on a small one-way concrete road you get to a relatively small parking lot. We had to park on the dirt on a small hill & our rental car with almost bald tires had trouble getting traction. Then at 7:30am (not allowed to start after 10am), we started our hike. You hike along a rutted stony path. If you pay attention you can see orchids along the way (we saw some white ones, but there are many green orchids Ali g the path). For most of the way it’s not too bad. Towards the top there is some mild climbing involved. We had sneakers along and were OK, but would have been happy to have had our hiking boots along for this one. The top has a nice view and refreshing winds. For some reason we seem to have missed the champagne greeting on top that everyone was talking about on the way up ;) The way back is more of a “scenic” drive (just driving through bush without much of a view) back towards the entrance. The ranger station has toilets with sinks for cleaning up.

Definitely recommended if you’re in reasonable shape and can handle the hike in the heat and humidity. One caveat: be aware of the weather - I would NOT recommend this if there’s rain in...

A boooring waste of time and money.

We drove the eastern portion of the park and walked to the caves and Indian drawings. A waste of time that cost 15 US dollars per person. When we were checking in at the park entrance we were informed that the western portion of the park was closed (which by the way was not mentioned on the park website). In the end I was glad the western portion was closed because it is probably no better than the eastern section. Also not mentioned on the website is the fact that there are no animals to see. But we were interested in the caves and Indian drawings so we decided go into the park. The cave is okay, just your standard cave. The Indian drawings are fenced off, which is fine, but the real problem is that the drawings are on the underside of an overhanging rock ledge. So you have to squat down to see the drawings, and even then you are at a 30 degree angle and can’t see much. Maybe the hike to the mountain top has great views as people have said, but that section was not open. Maybe the museum is good, but we didn’t go there. Maybe the walking trails are enjoyable if you like hiking through cactus and thorny plants (note: you can get to the eastern rocky shore and Boca Beach, which might be nice). But driving the eastern section and walking to the caves and drawings are not worth it. I hope the $45 we spent goes to something useful for the...