The two most important cities in Aruba are Oranjestad, the capital, and San Nicolás.
Oranjestad is located on the south coast of Aruba. The name of the city is translated from Dutch as “orange city”. There are no oranges here, but the city itself is very colorful. All buildings in Oranjestad are made in the Dutch style and painted in different colors. There are a lot of churches in the city, the most important of them is the Catholic Church of St. Anne, which was built at the beginning of the 20th century, is interesting for the handmade oak altar, which was made before the foundation of the church in 1870. In Oranjestad there are museums – the Archaeological Museum with exhibitions on the history of Arawak culture; Historical Museum with a collection of the pre-Columbian history of the island and the colonial era; Numismatic Museum, some of the coins exhibited here were found at the bottom of the sea in sunken ships; as well as the Geological Museum, which tells about the history of the origin of the island.
According to Top-mba-universities, Aruba.San Nicolas is the second largest city on the island. It is built in the British style. Previously, most of the workers who worked at the refinery lived here. Now it is a seaport. Of the attractions of San Nicolos, one can single out Charlie Bar with various finds hung on the walls from the bottom of the sea; Church of Christ; evangelical church of St. Nicholas; Anglican Church of the Holy Cross; the church of St. Teresita, as well as the Catholic chapel Grotto of Lourdes, located near the city, founded in 1958 in honor of the appearance of the Virgin Mary to a local resident.
In the north of Aruba is also the Church of the Pilgrims (Alto Vista Chapel). This is the first Christian building in Aruba.. The previous church was built on this site in 1750 by the joint work of Indians and Spaniards, and for a long time was the center of Aruba Catholicism. Later, it was forgotten, and in 1952 it was restored, and now this yellow church is a national shrine. Divine services are held here every day, and the burial places of the founders of the church, Domingo Antonio Silvestre and Miguel Enrique Albarez, which are located near the church, have become one of the places of pilgrimage for local residents.
In general, we can say that the main attractions of the island are located in its northern part. At the northernmost tip of the island stands the California Lighthouse.. The name of the lighthouse was given by the ship “California”, which ran aground in these places on September 23, 1891. The lighthouse was built in 1914. From it you can see a breathtaking view of the western coast of the island and the surrounding sand dunes. Further east along the coast are two popular natural attractions – a natural bridge that collapsed in 2005 and a natural pool.. The natural bridge was washed away by waves from the shore for many years and was an arch, the length of which was 30 m, and the height was 7 m. There is a small bridge next to the collapsed large bridge. The natural pool is a section of coastal waters, which are surrounded on all sides by stones. How they got here, no one knows. It is quite difficult to get to the pool, because the stones are very large.
Not far from the pool is the region of rocks and canyons Ayo Rock. Huge boulders, painted with ancient petroglyphs, are scattered throughout Ayo Rock. Some boulders are inexplicably folded into circles, and it is not known whether this was done by man or nature.
Close to Arikok National Park. It occupies about 20% of the area of the island. The national park is spread around the hills of Arikok and Hamanota (the highest point in the country). On its territory there are reminders of the Indians who lived here – Arawak petroglyphs in Fontaine Cave, as well as Dutch colonial settlements in Masiduri and the ruins of gold mines in Miralamar. Tours are constantly organized along the hiking trails in the National Park, during which tourists can see the quihi and divi-divi trees, aloe, all kinds of cacti, iguanas, as well as a variety of landscapes. The Gvadirikiri cave complex is located in the Arikok park. Its underground passages stretch for more than 30 meters, in some places, through holes in the ground, rays of light break through. Several thousand bats live here. Very interesting is the “Tunnel of Love” (Khulib cave),
In the west of Aruba, near Palm Beach, there is a butterfly farm. Here, on an area of 9,000 sq. m are bred more than 100 species of butterflies. The farm is a garden that is fenced with a net. Tours are organized here every day, during which tourists can touch the butterflies, hold them in their arms and just relax. Not far from the farm is the Old Mill, which now houses a restaurant. This mill was built in Holland in 1804, later moved in parts to Aruba in 1960.
Underwater excursions
Every day cruise submarines sail from Oranjestad and make trips, duration 1 hour along the coastal waters of the western coast of Aruba. Through huge windows you can see coral reefs, tropical fish, moray eels, turtles and seals. The submarine has a bar, and the interior itself resembles that of an airplane.
