Alto Vista Chapel

Alto Vista Chapel tickets: which one to buy

Entry is free and the chapel is never locked; there is no ticket, no guide and no shop. The site is on a hill above the north coast near Noord, about fifteen minutes by car from Palm Beach and twenty-five from Oranjestad, on a road that ends at a small car park. Most visitors arrive by hire car, taxi or on one of the island's jeep and UTV tours, which cost a moderate amount and combine the chapel with the natural bridge, the Bushiribana gold mill ruins and the California lighthouse.

Bicycle and quad tours follow the same route. There is no bus. A path of fourteen white crosses, the stations of the cross, climbs the hill to the chapel and can be walked in ten minutes. Sunday afternoon is when Aruban families visit, and an informal service is sometimes held under the trees beside the chapel.

Visiting Alto Vista Chapel: what to see

A Venezuelan missionary, Domingo Antonio Silvestre, built the first chapel here in 1750, and it is remembered as the place where the conversion of Aruba's remaining Arawak population began; the present bright yellow building replaced it in 1952 on the same spot. It is very small, a single room with a few benches, a wooden statue of the Virgin of Alto Vista and a door that stands open to the trade wind. The name means high view, and the hill looks over the whole north coast, an arid landscape of divi-divi trees, cactus and the surf breaking on a shore with no beaches.

Aruban families still come here to pray and the chapel is used for weddings. A large white cross and a peace pole stand in the grounds. A brass bell hangs in an arch over the door and visitors ring it, which is why the sound carries across the hill on any busy afternoon. An older wooden cross from the first chapel stands in the grounds, and the stations of the cross along the approach road were added in the 1990s by local families.

Alto Vista Chapel opening hours and the best time to go

Open at all hours. The north coast is windy at every season, which makes even the hottest afternoon bearable, and the light is best in the late afternoon when the yellow walls glow. Aruba lies outside the hurricane belt and the weather is dry and hot year-round, with a short rainy period around November. The road to the chapel is paved but narrow, and the last stretch has passing places.

There is no shade, no water and no toilet at the site. Dress is informal, as everywhere on the island, though this remains a place of prayer. Allow twenty minutes. The Bushiribana ruins and the natural pool at Conchi are a short drive further along the coast. The unpaved track continuing past the chapel leads to the natural bridge ruins and needs a high vehicle after rain.