mount christoffel

The Boca Grandi water stop makes the whole trip worthwhile. Largely desert vegetation, iguanas, birds and lizards. Price 12$ us per person. Due to 34 degree weather we were allowed to navigate through in our car only, which was fine with us. It's nice to see land set aside to keep the flora and fauna protected.

We had a great time driving around the park. Our three young kids (8, 6, and 3) enjoyed the scenery and watching for birds and lizards. We did not attempt to climb up to Christoffel--I don't think the three or six-year-old would have made it (or had fun)--but will save for another trip. There were several other stops to explore (and gave the brakes a chance to cool down!). Do bring water and snacks, or pick some up in the park office before heading out.

I've read reviews that is best to arrive at the park as earliest as possible and so how true. I arrived at 7:30 am and began the drive to the climbingredients area around 740am. I met a great gentleman who climbs the mountain many times per week and provided good advice. I believe most can climb this mountain at least 3/4 of the distance bit the last 1/4 requires determination and carefulness. I average 30 mins up and down. One bottle of Gatorade took care of my thirst. Reaching the summit is breathtaking. Enjoy!

If you like to hike or climb to see views, this was fun. 1000' or so vertical climb, a few nice shady spots along the way to take breaks. Take water! A couple of hours up and down should do it.

If you like something different from the beach view, the trek to Mt. Christoffel offers a nice change of scenery and a fantastic view of the island. The hike takes approximately 2 hours to complete. Not too demanding. Good for families with children (age 6+)

Go for it. The trail is well marked and easy to follow. It is a bit rough towards the top, but it's worth the walk. Bring water. It's hot on the way up! Get an early start.

Mount Christoffel park is comprised of three plantations. The land surrounding is very lush and tropical feeling on the northwest side of Curaçao. Make sure to start your trek by 7:00AM as it can get very hot. On a clear day you can view the entire island and see Venezuela 35 miles away. Beautiful orchids around the park to view including deer and other animals too.

You can do a few hikes but most of the park can only be visited by car. Which on one hand is a pitty but on the other hand it keeps most of the park is good condition. Some stops are nice but like the copper mine well it's just a hole in the ground. We did do the hike to mount Christoffel. It's a nice hike but the last part you have to climb over rocks and such so it's harder. Do take plenty of water with you.You aren't allowed to do the hike after 11 am. Which I understand because it's just too hot. So if you can do start early in the morning. Know that you have to climb a bit but the view on the top is really beautiful.

Climbing Mount Christoffel was one of the highlights of mine and my husbands trip to Curacao. They do not let people start their climb after 11:30am as it gets too hot, so be sure to arrive early. As we were staying well on the other side of the island, it took an hour just to drive there. In retrospect we would have left our resort almost an hour earlier to start our climb even earlier. We had arrived just before 9am and started our climb around 9:30am.You pay at the park entrance, and then drive across the street with a token that opens the gate. The road is one way so you just follow it until you reach the clearly marked car park. The only downside of our day was the car park; everyone who had arrived early had parked in such a way that it blocked a massive area in which to park for everyone who followed. I wound up creating a spot to the right of the parking lot and nearly bottomed out the little Kia Picanto in the process. Another reason to show up early?The initial hike is fairly easy, it's gets hard around the half-way point and there are a couple places where you actually have to climb, holding onto trees and other rocks. It's not something for anyone with a physical ailment to attempt. Also noting that what goes up has to come down. The harder bits were just as tricky coming down as they were going up.That said, the view is worth it. We spent about 20 minutes at the top taking photos and just taking it all in. It was just beautiful, the ultimate pay off.It rained on us as were coming down, which made the rocks very slippery and definitely slowed us down.Comfortable clothing and appropriate footwear are a must (husband wore his Vibram five fingers, which got lots of comments, while I just had run of the mill running shoes). Don't forget water, they suggest a litre though we only had 500ml each (should have brought more). Everyone doing the hike was nice to each other; it was great to have people tell you how much further you had to go and offer encouragement, which we made sure to do as we came down.Our trip to Curacao would not have been complete without this climb, that's how much we loved it. If you're not staying up toward Westpunt (as we weren't), it's worth going on to Watamula to see the blowhole and checking out the other beaches (Knip and Playa Lagun, especially). We also drove back via the salt flats where the flamingos hang out.

The trip to the nature reserve is fun. There are 2 "halves" to drive round: the mountain route and the coastal route. Both allow you to get close to local vegetation, geology, flora and fauna. The iguanas near the caves on the coastal side were HUGE, and there were quite a few of them.The little restaurant by the park entrance is highly recommended for informal lunch dining in between driving the 2 routes. Very friendly and knowledgeable staff.

St. Cristoffel National park is diveded in 2 areas, we've done the ocean route by car allowing serveral spots to leave the car an explore the nature. amazing view and impressing experience.

We went to Curacao to dive but after lunch we like to sight see. This was one of the attractions we chose to see. There are two sides to this park. The mountain side and the ocean side. We only had time for one. We choose the mountain. We made a short hike to the manor house ruins. A good view from there. Still hard to imagine living there 300 hundred years ago,the terrian is so harse. Great fun driving the good road not worring about oncoming traffic. Its one way. We got there to late to hike the mountain,that would have been awsome. You can see it from many areas on the island.

We had a great hike up Mount Christoffel in October 2012 when we visited Curacao to dive. This was a great hike, but strenuous! You are hiking up a mountain the entire time, so up, up, up! Once you get to the top, it is a very steep scale up rock, but the top view is totally worth it! Make sure you get to the entrance early if you want to hike- you must stop by and pay inside to get a ticket to be let in the gate for the park. They do not allow you to enter in after 11 or 12 noon so people aren't hiking in the heat of the day! Trust me, you don't want to be hiking 1,400+ ft up while the sun is beating down on you!

My husband and I did this hike while on our honeymoon in Curacao and loved it! The hike took about an hour to the top and was well worth the work! The view from the top was spectacular and the climb was a lot of vertical but fairly easy until the peak. At the peak there was some slightly more adventurous climbing required but still feasible for novices. We recommend closed toed shoes, a water bottle and sunscreen!

Visited around 3:00 p.m. and even though the park sign said it closed @ 4:00, they were closed to tourist. Also something to be forewarned about: if you want to go hiking, you have to get to the park before 11:00 a.m. or they will not let you hike. We wanted to hike but were too late. I never read anything about the 11:00 a.m. cut-off on TA so hopefully this little tip helps future travelers.