Christoffelpark is a national park, protected nature area and tourist attraction at the north-western end of the island of

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coas ...

surrounding

Christoffelberg The Christoffelberg, also known as Mt Christoffel or Mt St Christoffel, named after Saint Christopher, is the highest point on Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrs ...

(Mt Christoffel). Notable for its flora, fauna, culture and history, the park includes three former plantations, Plantage Savonet, Plantage Zorgvlied and Plantage Zevenbergen, a mine complex, Newton, and the island's highest point, Christoffelberg (). The park covers 1,860 hectares of which 1,040 hectares are nature reserve, and has been part of Curaçao's national park system since 1978. It forms part of the

North-east Curaçao parks and coast Important Bird Area The North-east Curaçao parks and coast Important Bird Area is a 13,554 ha tract of land in Curaçao, a constituent island nation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Dutch Caribbean. It encompasses much of the north-western end of the ...

. the park is run by the Carmabi Foundation ( Caribbean Research and Management of Biodiversity Foundation) and can be explored by visitors by car, bike, horse or on foot.

History

Plantation Savonet in Christoffelpark is one of the earliest plantations to be founded on Curaçao. the irrigation system is still reasonably intact. Attempts were made to cultivate aloe,

indigofera ''Indigofera'' is a large genus of over 750 species of flowering plants belonging to the pea family Fabaceae. They are widely distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Description Species of ''Indigofera'' are m ...

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family ( Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many ot ...

, corn, cotton, and beans. Cows, sheep, goats and poultry were also farmed on the plantation. The plantation houses of Savonet and Zorgvlied (situated at the mountain side of the park) were built on the island in the eighteenth century. Of Zorgvlied only ruins remain. About west of Zorgvlied ruins is the house of the 'bomba', the slave in charge of other slaves, and a 'slave-pole'. Roads in the park were sealed in 2004.

Flora and fauna

Chistoffelpark has more biodiversity than elsewhere on the island. Flora present in the park includes three pillar cacti species (datu, kadushi, and kadushi di pushi),

divi-divi ''Libidibia coriaria'', synonym ''Caesalpinia coriaria'', is a leguminous tree or large shrub native to the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and northern and western South America. Common names include divi-divi, cascalote, guaracabuya, ...

trees and exotic flowers. Cacti in the park reach up to ten feet high, and several extremely rare orchids, such as the lady of the night and Humboldt's schomburgkia, can be found blooming on them. Plant species occurring only in Christoffelpark include ''

Myrcia curassavica ''Myrcia'' is a genus of plants in the family Myrtaceae, containing about 765 species as of 2022. They are distributed in Central and South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean, with centers of diversity in the Brazilian Cerrado and Atlantic Forest ...

'', endemic to Curaçao, and ''

Maytenus versluysii ''Maytenus'' ''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607 is a genus of flowering plants in the family Celastraceae. Members of the genus are distributed throughout Central and South America, Southeast Asia, Micronesia and Australasia, the Ind ...

'', endemic to Curaçao and

Bonaire Bonaire (; , ; pap, Boneiru, , almost pronounced ) is a Dutch island in the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. Its capital is the port of Kralendijk, on the west (leeward) coast of the island. Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao form the ABC ...

. Fauna notable in the park includes mammals like the

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

, the

cottontail Cottontail rabbits are the leporid species in the genus ''Sylvilagus'', found in the Americas. Most ''Sylvilagus'' species have stub tails with white undersides that show when they retreat, giving them their characteristic name. However, this ...

, and several species of bats, birds like the rare

white-tailed hawk The white-tailed hawk (''Geranoaetus albicaudatus'') is a large bird of prey species found in tropical and subtropical environments of the Americas. Description The white-tailed hawk is a large, stocky hawk. It is close in size to the Swainso ...

, an endemic subspecies of

barn owl The barn owl (''Tyto alba'') is the most widely distributed species of owl in the world and one of the most widespread of all species of birds, being found almost everywhere except for the polar and desert regions, Asia north of the Himala ...

(''Tyto alba bargei''), hummingbirds like the

common emerald The common emerald (''Hemithea aestivaria'') is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species is found throughout the Nearctic and Palearctic regions and the Near East. It is mostly commonly found in the southern half of the British Isles. It w ...

and the

crimson topaz The crimson topaz (''Topaza pella'') is a species of hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del F ...

, and the endemic yellow oriole. Reptiles and insects are also well represented.

Tourism

Christoffelpark is open to visitors Monday to Sunday from 6am to 3pm, with no admittance after 1.30 pm. Visitors are not allowed to start climbing Mount Cristoffel after 10am. There are eight hiking trails in the park, of which the Christoffel Mountain climb is the most challenging. Visitors are advised to attempt this climb early in the morning. There are four sealed roads through the park. Organised tours include a deer-spotting sunset tour, a pick-up safari, and the "Savonet history" tour. The Savonet Museum is located in the plantation house near the entrance to Christoffelpark, and recounts the history of the Savonet plantation and its owners and slaves.

References

External links

Official site
* {{commons category-inline Protected areas of Curaçao