Aruba's vibrant history is steeped in the quest for wealth and riches that brought gold prospectors to the island as early as the 1400s and 1500s.

 

The remnants of this storied past can still be explored today in Arikok National Park, which is home to historic gold mines at Miralamar, as well as two gold mills.

 

One of these mills, the Bushiribana Gold Mill, now abandoned, sits on the northern coast, where it once processed ore from mines in the nearby hills during the nineteenth-century gold rush.

Link to MAP

 

Meanwhile, the Balashi Gold Mill, built at the tip of the Spanish Lagoon, still offers a glimpse of its once bustling operations in the picturesque setting near the narrow canyon of rocks known as Frenchman's Pass.

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It's worth noting that Aruba's gold industry eventually produced over 3 million pounds of gold, a fascinating testament to the island's rich and colorful history.

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You can get to both of these sites with a regular car!

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Link to MAP