Want To Explore The History Of Aruba Island? Read On!

Posted by Taylor James on April 5th, 2017

Aruba is a tropical island well recognized for its white and sandy seashores facing the Atlantic Ocean. Although it is a trivial island, Aruba is opulent in its cultural history accompanied by miscellaneous wildlife and natural splendors. So, if you can pull yourself away from the seashores, you may want to tour the history of Aruba via Aruba sightseeing tours.

The first humans to wander to the Aruba were the Caiquetios, also identified as the Arawak. Their origin is from the Orinoco Basin in South America and they wandered down to threats from the unruly Carib. The existence of the Arawak tribes thousands of years ago can be found on some of the town forenames found around the Aruba island, such as Turibana, Guadirikiri, Camacuri, Andicuri and Bushiri. All these forenames are taken from the tribes’ chiefs and soldiers. Aside from that, they also left behind fragments of their culture like pottery, earthenware and other relics in different places on the island which can be perceived at the Archaeological Museum in Oranjestad or at the Historical Museums of Aruba at Fort Zoutman and Willem III Toren which is a lighthouse erected in 1869. This lighthouse uses an oil lamp and it was first time lit on the birthday merriment of King Willem III's. Although there are not several tours that focus principally on the aboriginal aspect of Aruba, there are still various Aruba tour operators who are enthusiastic to offer such tours.

You can also see the dark cave area, drawings of the native tribes and petroglyphs, particularly in the Fontein and Guadirikiri Caves situated in Arikok National Park. The Guadirikiri Cave has been separated into two distinct rooms; in the meantime the Fontein Cave is awash with marked drawings done by the Arawak. Besides the Arikok National Park, which is the hub to a multiplicity of varieties of wildlife, and also offers a brilliant view of the island, other fascinating places are for instance the Bubali Bird Ponds, the butterfly farm, an ostrich farm and also the donkey sanctuary. Tours to Arikok National Park are generally done via jeep group tours as there are a lot of dirt tracks and hiking trails here. There are very few tours that focus utterly on the history of Aruba, so check with your hotel warden or tour provider to find the finest tour options for merging Aruba sightseeing and history.