If you love the garden at Mondi Lodge, Christoffel National Park is the island’s wild version of it. The park covers the far west of Curaçao and takes its name from the Christoffelberg, the highest hill on the island. From the top you can see the north and south coasts on a clear day.
The park is looked after by the Carmabi Foundation, and you enter at the old Savonet plantation house, which now holds a small museum on the history of the land and the people who worked it. From there, trails and scenic drives lead through tall columnar cactus, dry forest and rocky hillsides. Keep an eye out for iguanas, parakeets and, if you’re quiet and lucky, the shy Curaçao white-tailed deer.
The climb up the Christoffelberg is steep in places, so bring good shoes and plenty of water. Start early in the morning, before the heat builds; the light is softer then and the wildlife is more active. If you’d rather take it easy, the drives and shorter walks still give you a real sense of the island before the resorts.
Pack a picnic and make a day of it. Shete Boka National Park is close by on the same road, so the two pair well.
