Grotten Van Hato

Kueba di Hato - Grot van Hato - Hato Cave


Useful Information

Location: Opposite Airport, north of Willemstad, across the road from Hotel Holland. Curaçao.
(12.179774, -68.948278)
Open: All year daily 9-15.
Tours on the full hours, first tour 9, last tour 14.
[2021]
Fee: Adults ANG 15.75, Children (4-11) ANG 12.25.
Groups: on request.
[2021]
Classification: SpeleologyKarst cave
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System
Dimension: Ar=4,900m², T=19 °C.
Guided tours: English Español - Spanish Nederlands - Dutch Papiamentu
Photography:  
Accessibility:  
Bibliography: Donald A. McFarlane and Adolphe O. Debrot (2001): A New Species of Extinct Oryzomyine Rodent from the Quaternary of Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles, Caribbean Journal of Science, Vol. 37, No. 3-4, 182-184, 2001
Address: Grotten Van Hato, Rooseveltweg z/n, Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles, Tel: +599-9-868-0379, Fax: +599-9-868-8114.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

~500 Caquetios created drawings and engravings in the cave.

Description

Grotten Van Hato (Hato Caves) are limestone caves inside a coral reef. Hato caves have numerous speleothems, stalagmites, stalactites and dripstone pools. This overwhelming growth of speleothems is a result of the high temperature of Curaçao, which increases solution and deposition processes of limestone.

A colony of rare long nose bats lives in the cave.

The caves are known to the native indians, the Arawaks, for are very long time. They used them as shelter and as a burial place. The remains of a buried family were found in the cave, with the sculls grouped together and the male in the center. This typical form of funeral was also found in caves on the neighbour island Aruba.

But the indians left more remains inside the caves, like flint tools and engravings. The style of this engravings is also found in certain areas along the Orinoco River where the Indians most likely came from. They also brought their food with them, the iguanas, which are an attraction of the park around the cave.

Later this cave was used during the early days of the slave trade by escaped slaves. They used it a s hideout, even lived in it for months at a time.