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Santa Cruz and Savaneta are two districts making up the central part of Aruba. They feature some popular natural and historic attractions.
Santa Cruz, Aruba
Santa Cruz sits east and south of Oranjestad. It’s the gateway to Arikok National Park and has more to see and do than Savaneta.
Hooiberg
Hooiberg is a cone-shaped hill just east of Oranjestad. It’s a volcanic formation and the second highest point on Aruba at 541 feet (165 meters).
Hooiberg, which is Dutch for haystack, is popular with hikers. If you’re looking to get in a good workout during your trip, this is a great place for it! There are about 600 stairs leading all the way up to the top.
The stairs start out at a slight incline but quickly get steeper. About a quarter of the way up, there’s a small extension with a shelter to stop and rest. As you get higher up, there’s a handrail down the center of the stairs to divide traffic coming up and down the hill.
The path eventually turns to the left before the final push to the top. Once at the summit, there are a bunch of antennas and a small section surrounded by ropes where you can get some great views of the island.
Several landmarks are visible. To the north you can see the high-rise resorts at Palm Beach as well as the California Lighthouse. To the south, you can see the Lago Refinery in San Nicolas. Looking east, you can see the hills of Arikok National Park.
Once you’re done enjoying the views, you can head back down and move on to the next attraction. Some advice: Make sure you take plenty of water, wear a hat and sunscreen, and take your time going up and down.
Aruba Donkey Sanctuary
A great attraction popular with both kids and adults is the Aruba Donkey Sanctuary. There’s no admission and it’s open daily from 9am to 4pm. You can stay as long as you’d like, and there’s also a gift shop and snack bar at the visitor center.
Donkeys aren’t native to Aruba but have been on the island since the 16th century. They were the main form of transportation for almost 500 years until the arrival of the automobile, when many donkey owners let them loose to fend for themselves. In the 1970s, a disease spread through the island leaving only 20 wild donkeys. As their population began to rebound, several became killed or injured by cars or mistreated by humans.
Thankfully, the Aruba Donkey Sanctuary was founded in 1997 to protect and care for the island’s donkeys. It’s operated completely by volunteers. Each donkey that’s brought in is given a name, food, shelter, and medical care.
If you want to feed the donkeys from the porch, you can buy a small bucket of food for US$1 or US$3 for a big bucket (as of February 2024), or stop at the store before visiting to buy carrots and apples. The donkeys will come up to the fence and eat right out of your hand. For a donation of any amount, you can also hug and cuddle with a donkey for up to 30 minutes. It’s even possible to adopt a donkey for a year.
Balashi Gold Mill
Not too far from the donkey sanctuary are the ruins of the Balashi Gold Mill. It was built by Aruba Gold Concessions between 1899 and 1903.
In 1908, the Aruba Gold Concessions ceased operations and the Balashi Gold Mill was taken over by a group of local investors who founded the Aruba Gold Company (Aruba Goud Maatschappij).
According to information at the site, investors included “Mr. Arends, Mr. L. Henriquez, Mr. Quartz, Mr. J. Beaujon, Mr. G. Zeppenfeldt, Mr. J. de Veer, and Mr. P. Ruiz, who was the main foreman during the construction of the gold smelter in 1900”. The Aruba Gold Company was profitable until 1915 when it shut down and returned the concessions to the colonial government.
The Balashi Gold Mill was a smelting plant that had state-of-the-art equipment at that time. Gold ore mined at Miralamar, now within Arikok National Park, was brought down to the mill through Frenchman’s Pass using narrow-gauge railway and steam wagons. Once in Balashi, “the wagons were uncoupled and hauled up to the level where a dilapidated building stands, on top of the old smelting plant”.
The ruins of the complex “include various plant buildings and pieces of equipment, such as a laboratory, a forge, workshops, ovens, and purification tanks”.
Spanish Lagoon
The Spanish Lagoon (Spans Lagoen) is a few steps from the Balashi Gold Mill. It’s been a protected wetland under the Ramsar Convention since 1980 and is one of the most biodiverse areas in Aruba. In February 2017, it was annexed by Arikok National Park.
The Spanish Lagoon is about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) in length and ranges between 200 to 500 meters (660 to 1,640 feet) in width. It contains mangroves and tidal mudflats and is an important breeding ground for birds including ospreys, egrets, herons, and sandpipers. It’s also a nursery for reef fish and crustaceans.
The dry section of mudflats are roped off to protect the Aruban burrowing owls, known locally as shoco. We were lucky enough to observe one popping out of the ground.
The trail along the Spanish Lagoon takes you past mangroves as well as a dry area where you can see several different types of cacti, including the Turk’s cap. We followed it until it opened up and there was no more shade. There are lots of bugs along the trail and around the lagoon, so be prepared.
Where to Eat in Santa Cruz
We only had one meal in Santa Cruz during our trip to Aruba. It was after leaving Arikok National Park.
Urataka Center
Urataka Center is a short drive from the main entrance to Arikok National Park. The main items on the menu are pizza, burgers, and wings. We shared a meat lover’s pizza and it was excellent. Prices are reasonable and service is friendly.
Savaneta, Aruba
Savaneta sits between Santa Cruz and San Nicolas. It’s the oldest settlement on Aruba and was the island’s capital until 1797. We didn’t spend much time there, stopping for lunch and a short visit to a beach.
Mangel Halto
Mangel Halto is a popular beach with mangroves. It features calm shallow water and is a great spot for snorkeling. There are beach huts, a sun deck, and lots of shaded areas.
If you walk through the mangroves, you’ll find a nice sandy beach. You can access the reef from there and get some snorkeling in.
Where to Eat in Savaneta
As in Santa Cruz, we only ate once in Savaneta while in Aruba. We stopped into a restaurant before enjoying the afternoon at Mangel Halto.
La Granja
La Granja serves seafood, chicken, steak, pork chops, ribs, salads, and sandwiches. You order at the counter and wait for your number to be called. I had a burger while Marisol had the sancocho. Both were good and prices were fair.
