Savonet-Cueba Bosa 20141002 035 smallClose to the border between the Christoffelpark and the neigboring area of Wacao there are several caves. At Cueba Bosá three caves are located; the most Western one (cave 1) is easily accessible to the public; the second one is closed to the public but we got special permission to enter this cave; the third cave is open to the public but not so easily accessible because there is no path cleared to this cave.
The archaeology sleuths gathered at the entrance of the park at 8 AM on Thursday October 2, 2014. With two cars the trip was made to the area of the caves. The route to the caves is clearly indicated. Close to the three caves of Cueba Bosá there is also a small cave with indian drawings.

After parking the cars at the small parking lot we followed the signs towards the first cave. There is a path to the entrance of this cave. If you want to explore this cave on your own don't forget to bring a flash light. Especially if you want to go into the cave. And that is certainly worth it. There are nice stalactites in this cave although we have the impression that in all three caves a lot of the stalactites are gone because of the excavation of the guano (bat droppings) that took place in these caves. We could clearly see where originally the floor of the cave was. By excavating the guano the stalactites lost their support and broke off.

The first cave is the smallest of the three. The second one is the largest with a length of about 120 meters; this cave has a extra large chamber to the right of the main path. This cave is closed to the public to avoid disturbance of the bats inside this cave and because the remaining guano is not really healthy for humans. We got special permission to enter this cave. This cave is very impressive. At most places you can easily stand upright. The chamber to the right of the main path is called the white chamber and it is obvious why. The walls are white. Unfortunately people cannot withstand this white wall and have to leave a permanent mark of their presence. This goes from "Bin Laden cave" to lots of names of the visitors to this cave. Really a shame! Also a good reason to close this cave to the public.

There were indeed lots of bats in this cave. Central in this cave there is a chamber with a high ceiling with a window. A perfect place for us to take a rest and eat our apples.
After the rest we continued our search of this cave toward the farthest point. Also there is a small window in the ceiling where a lot of bats were gathering.

Our next visit was to the third, the most Eastern cave. This cave is about 110 meter long. The entrance is easy but soon we had to crawl literally on our belly to pass a low ceiling. Behind that point we could once again stand upright. This cave had several large windows in the ceiling which makes it possible to go through this cave without a flash light. We used an alternative exit through a small window to leave this cave.

Our last visit was to the cave with indian drawings closeby. These indian drawings had to be protected because also here people were putting their own names between these historical indian drawings.

All in all a very nice hike. Not that we covered a lot of distance. We walked and crawled this time only a small distance and mainly in the shade, But the views were very impressive. Enjoy the pictures!

No rights can be derived from this report.

The map of the three caves is taken from the book "Caves of the Netherlands Antilles" by P. Wagenaar Hummelinck.

  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_001Map of the three caves that we visited
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_003Plantation house Savonet
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_004Waterbuilding of the plantation house Savonet
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_005Savonet going green
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_009Beautiful stairs leading to the plantation house
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_010On our way to the caves; view on the plantation house and the Christoffel mountain
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_012Entrance of cave 1
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_013Cave 1
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_014Inside of cave one, close to the entrance
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_016A window in the ceiling
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_018Nice stalactites inside the cave
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_019
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_020View from inside the cave towards the entrance
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_021Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_021
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_025Inside cave 2, the largest of the three caves and closed to the public
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_027This animal didn't survive the cave
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_028
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_029Beautiful views inside cave 2
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_030Hermit crabs gather where the water falls from the ceiling
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_031Inside this cave are a lot of bats
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_033And this strange insect, a tailless whip scorpion
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_034Here is visible that the guano was removed from the bottom of the cave
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_035Nice structure formed by the dripping water
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_036The white chamber in cave 2
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_037Clearly visible why this is called the white chamber
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_038
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_039Strange formation; looks like an upside down stalactite
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_040
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_044Relatively new stalactites
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_045Once again lots of bats
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_046
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_048Window in the top of cave 2
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_049It is not easy to enter the cave from this windown
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_050Owls leave the remains of their victims on the floor
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_051Stalactites broke off after removing the guano from the floor
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_052End of cave 2 with a small window where the bats gather
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_053Almost picturelike
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_054
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_055The light from the window in the top of the cave paints the inside
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_056Entrance of cave 3
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_057This cave has a lot of windows; no light necessary
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_059
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_060Impressive stalactite
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_061
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_062François is taking a rest in the light of the last window of cave 3
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_063The last window in this cave is so large that a tree is growing there
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_064Stalactites in cave 3
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_065
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_066
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_067View on another window in cave 3
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_068This fence is protecting the indian drawings in a nearby cave
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_069Indian drawings
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_070
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_071
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_072
  • Savonet-Cueba_Bosa_20141002_073