Caribbean Desert: Aruba's Arikok National Park

Aruba's Arikok National Park

Aruba is unique in the Caribbean for its semi-arid climate. This isn’t so evident from the beaches, but one minute outside of downtown Oranjestad and the cacti start in full effect. The best place to see the unspoiled Aruban desert (and lizards, caves and petroglyphs) is Arikok National Park.

At about 7,900 acres of undeveloped land, Arikok represents 18% of Aruba’s total land area. Not too shabby for an island famous for beach resorts, casinos and high-rise hotels.

The desert landscape here is a little like Arizona, but yet specifically Aruban, too. Indigenous, wind-slanted divi divi trees provide shade while tall, skinny towering candle cacti thrust dozens of arms towards the sky. Rare rattlesnakes slither, little owls burrow and turquoise-speckled lizards called kododo blauws stop every few minutes to wave a single claw, as if saying hello.

On our recent press trip to Aruba, we were treated to a guided tour of a 45-minute loop through the heart of the park. Starting at the modern, sustainably-built visitors center, we followed clear, well-mantained walking paths over desert hillsides dotted with bright spring greens and dusty browns. Amongst the cactus spires flew brief flashes of orange, black and yellow birds; sticky-footed pega pega lizards skittered across tumbled limestone and shale.

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Clockwise: Visitor's center; dry creek bed; calbas tree and candle cacti; kododo blauw; divi-divi tree; pega pega lizard

We were there during the island’s rainy season (November-January), but rain was sadly scarce in 2009. Descending from the hilltop viewpoint Cero Arikok, we’d normally have meandered through a paradise of streams, flowers and hummingbirds, but in the drought there were only earth-carved rivulets and an occasional yellow flower spike or bushy red blossom. In contrast to the verdant hillsides, many cacti had shriveled to spiky prunes.

Note: If you feel have any sway with the weather, please ask for rain to be sent to Aruba.

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Cero Arikok

There are several caves in Arikok full of Arawak petroglyphs; the cave in the Cero features both a dolphin and a mysterious duck-like bird that the park has taken as its logo.

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Arawak petroglyphs at Cero Arikok

At the bottom of the loop is Cunucu Arikok, a restored Aruban farm with a white adobe farmhouse. Guarded by cactus fences and sporting an outhouse, barn, and more, the home here has three distinct, sun-washed areas: a living room, bedroom and kitchen. It’s like walking straight into that fantasy the two of you have always had of living off the land…in a desert.

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The farm at Cunucu Arikok

We took this hike around 11am on a mid-December day and it was already pretty darn hot. There are tree-shaded benches along the way, but for cooler temperatures (and the chance to see a few more animals) I’d suggest starting out closer to 8am, when the park opens.

There are lots of other things to see in Arikok (as described in Frommer’s) including an abandoned coconut plantation, a natural pool reachable by 4×4 or horseback, sand dunes, rocky coves and sea caves.

Park hours are Monday to Sunday from 8AM-5 PM
Adults pay $4 apiece as a conservation fee (children up to 17 years old enter free)
Tour the park independently or book a guided hiking tour for $25 per couple (or group up to 15 people)
For an additional $25, camping and BBQ permits are granted to tourists who already have accommodations on the island; clearly, the park wants to discourage you from falling in love with the landscape and setting up permanent camp here.
Inquire about permits at info@arubanationalpark.com