Fort Beekenburg (Curaçao)

Although we spent much of our week in Curaçao participating in water-related activities, we did manage to experience a few cultural and historical attractions in Curaçao such as the ruins of Fort Beekenburg.

The ruins of Fort Beekenburg are in the Caracasbaai area and are located very close to two of Curaçao's best snorkeling spots (Tugboat Beach and Directors Bay) and to one of our favorite restaurants for local cuisine and a sunset dinner (Brisa Do Mar - Pop's Place). The next photograph is taken from the parking lot of Tugboat Beach and shows Fort Beekenburg on the right side of the photograph.

There is a dirt parking lot near the stairs used to ascend to the grounds of Fort Beekenburg. The next photograph shows our rented Kia parked there. Only one other car was there when we arrived and that family was exiting as we entered, so we had Fort Beekenburg to ourselves. We noted when we passed it multiple times later during our trip that it was always a bit busier, but we still never saw more than 5 to 7 vehicles there.

There is a stairway from the parking area to the grounds of Fort Beekenburg.

This photograph shows the view of the cannons in the forefront and large ship next to Tugboat beach in the background.

Viewing the water from here, it's not surprising that snorkeling has such good visibility in nearby Tugboat Beach and Director's Bay.

This was the morning of our first full day in Curaçao and the cactus and other vegetation was striking.

The views of the gorgeous water, the ruins, and the cactus-heavy vegetation are different than other similar views we've experienced in the Caribbean.

There is one more set of stairs to climb up into the tower.

At the top of these stairs (mid-way up the tower) are some more great views.

There is an archway under which one can walk to climb even higher in the tower.

After entering the archway, there is a ladder to climb to get to the top of tower.

As you'd expect, there are more great views from the top of the tower.

The ruins of Fort Beekenburg are interesting alone, but visiting these ruins is more satisfying because of the opportunity to walk among typical Curaçao vegetation and to see some spectacular views.