Bushiribana, Aruba: The Gold Ruins on the Windward Coast
A smelter shell from the 1870s on a wild shore, with the Natural Bridge collapsed beside it.
Why Go
Bushiribana is the stretch of Aruba's north-east coast built around the stone shell of a gold smelter put up in the 1870s, when the island's brief gold rush was still worth the investment. The building stands roofless on a low rise above a shoreline that gets the full Atlantic swell, and the contrast with the calm resort beaches on the other side of the island is total. Wind, black rock, spray and a ruin — this is the Aruba that most visitors do not expect to exist.
The Experience
The coast here is exposed and treeless, with waves breaking hard on limestone and the constant trade wind that flattens every divi-divi tree on the island. The smelter's walls survive well enough to climb into and look out through, and the view from the upper level takes in the whole windward shore. Just along the coast is the site of the Natural Bridge, Aruba's most photographed formation until it collapsed in 2005; the smaller Baby Bridge beside it still stands. Inland, the ground rises to the boulder fields at Casibari and the old goldfields around it, and there is a working ostrich farm and a butterfly-and-donkey circuit of family attractions that most tour routes take in. The gold rush itself was brief and largely disappointing. Aruba produced enough between the 1820s and the early twentieth century to justify two smelters, this one and Balashi in the south, and never enough to change the island. What is left is a ruin on a coast nobody could farm, which is a fairly honest monument to the whole enterprise.
What to Try
Combine the ruins with the coast rather than treating them as a single stop. The Natural Bridge site, the surviving Baby Bridge and the rough shoreline between them make a proper hour on foot, and the Casibari Boulders inland are a short climb with the island laid out below. Aruba Ostrich Farm, Parke Curason and Parke Arawa cover families. Eat at Shiribana Café, Casibari Café and Grill, or one of the snack trucks — The LionFish Snack Aruba, Chichi's, Nos Local Snack Truck and Seafood Boil Aruba are the honest local end of Aruba's food. UTV, buggy and horse tours run this coast constantly and are how most people arrive. Walk the shoreline north from the ruins for ten minutes if the ground allows. The rock platforms, blowholes and small arches along here are more interesting than the famous bridge site and almost nobody leaves the car park to see them.
Insider Tip
Do not swim here. The windward coast looks dramatic and it is genuinely dangerous — the swell is heavy, the shore is rock, and there is no lifeguard and no easy exit anywhere along it. People drown on this side of Aruba with some regularity, and every local guide says the same thing. Look, walk and photograph; swim on the west coast. Go early or late as well, because the exposed ground offers no shade at all and the middle of the day here is brutal.
The Practical Stuff
Bushiribana is on Aruba's north-east coast, roughly twenty to thirty minutes from Oranjestad or the resort strip by road, with the last approach on unpaved track that ordinary rental cars manage carefully but that UTVs and jeep tours handle better. There is no entry fee and no facilities at the ruins — no shade, no water, no toilets. Swimming is unsafe along this entire coast. Aruba uses the florin, with US dollars accepted everywhere, and cards are widely taken except at snack trucks. Papiamento, Dutch, English and Spanish are all in daily use. The island sits below the main hurricane belt and is dry and windy year-round.
Common Questions
What is Bushiribana?
The roofless stone shell of a gold smelter built in the 1870s on Aruba's windward coast, from the island's short-lived gold-mining era. You can walk into it and climb to the upper level.
Can you swim there?
No. The Atlantic swell on this coast is heavy, the shore is rock, there are no lifeguards and drownings happen. Swim on the west coast instead.
What happened to the Natural Bridge?
It collapsed in 2005. The site is still visited and the smaller Baby Bridge alongside it remains standing.
How do you get there?
Twenty to thirty minutes by road from Oranjestad or the resorts, with unpaved track at the end. Jeep, UTV and horse tours run the coast constantly.
Are there facilities?
None at the ruins — no shade, water or toilets. Cafés and snack trucks are a short drive away, and cash is useful for the trucks.
What else is nearby?
Casibari Boulders inland for a short climb and a view, the ostrich farm, and the family parks that most tour routes take in on the same loop.
Pair It With
- Natural Bridge Aruba — The coast walk beside the ruins.
- Casibari Boulders — The climb and the island view inland.
- Shiribana Café — Shade and lunch after the wind.
