The Hato Cave had a utilitarian purpose during the early days of the slave trade in Curacao. Escaped slaves used them as hiding places, and lived in them for months at a time. Even before the arrival of Europeans and slaves, the Amerindian Arawaks stayed and lived around this area, and left behind the petroglyphs, estimated at least 1,500 years old.
The cave is officially protected by the state as of 1967. It was open to the public until vandalism and misuse of the cave took its toll . It was temporarily closed, only to officially reopen on December 15th 1991 as a professional and attractive tourist and local attraction. Since then the park has undergone many upgrades to become one of today’s favorite and well maintained nature parks of the island.
To learn even more about the history and mystery of this ancient cave, we invite you to visit the cave any day of the week. Be welcome!