The excursion to the Tree of Souls and ruins of the Newtown Manganese and Copper Mine was a highlight of our time in Curacao. It’s a free hike with some great photo opportunities that can be followed up with a visit to one or more of the beautiful beaches on the western side of the island. For us, the trip required a bit of web sleuthing, but with the help of this post, anyone can find and enjoy the short trek!
The Mysterious Trail
It was our first night in Curacao, and I was lying on the bed in our Willemstad hotel, flipping through a tourism publication about the island. While reading, I came across an article which discussed a hike to something called the “Tree of Souls.” The article included spiffy photos of a huge tree as well as some abandoned buildings along the path. Sarah was keen to visit the tree. I was keen to check out the abandoned buildings. The only problem? The booklet did not provide any guidance on getting to the trail. All we had to work with was a vague reference to it being located near the town of Lagun. It was time to play web detective.
After a good deal of Googling, we came across a blog that seemed to provide instructions for getting to the trailhead. There wasn’t much information on the length of the hike or trail conditions, and the blog referenced a “Tree of Life” instead of a “Tree of Souls.” But we were pretty sure that we were on the right track. A couple days later we moved to an apartment near Lagun. I asked our local host for tips. She seemed vaguely aware of the ruins that I was talking about but couldn’t provide any specifics. Part of the problem was that I didn’t know the name of the actual ruins and she had never heard of the “Tree of Souls.” We decided to follow the map we had found to the trailhead and try our luck. All was well.
Hike Logistics
The trail to the ruins and “Tree of Souls” is located at the end of a paved road on the outskirts of Lagun. It is about a 45 minute drive from the capital. There is no signage and neither the trail nor ruins show up on Google Maps. The easiest way to find it is to match the screen shot here with what you see when zooming out on Lagun using a map app. We parked at the end of the road and initially had to ask a local where to go. She was familiar with the ruins and pointed us in the right direction. See the picture of the trailhead to the right.
The trail itself progresses along a valley and is relatively flat. There are a lot of thorny plants, so make sure to dress appropriately and by all means wear closed-toe shoes. There aren’t any signs or markings, but we had no issue discerning the actual trail from the game trails that it occasionally intersected.
A reasonably fit person can easily reach the ruins in under ten minutes, and you can reach the tree in under twenty. We took lots of photo breaks, and I spent half an hour exploring the ruins, so we were out on the trail for a total of about 90 minutes. While hanging out around the tree we met a couple of Dutch hikers who were doing a loop trek. Apparently, if you take a right when you reach the tree and continue up the hill you will eventually end up back in Lagun. I ran a good ways up the hill to scout for us, but the rocks were pretty loose. So, we decided to backtrack instead of venturing further into the unknown with our baby.
The History Behind the Ruins
We came across two clusters of ruins along the trail. The largest cluster was ten minutes into the hike and included three multi-story buildings and a fourth, very long structure that appeared to be single story. Further along, by the large tree, were the ruins of two more buildings. At the time, we had no idea what the buildings were for, but further research has provided an answer. They are the remains of the short-lived Newtown Manganese and Copper Mine.
The Man with the Plan: John Godden
In 1871, a British mining engineer named John Godden was sailing around the Caribbean in search of mineral deposits when he came across a wealth of phosphate reserves on the nearby island of Klein Curaçao. This phosphate, which came from bird droppings, was an extremely valuable fertilizer at the time. He set up a profitable mining operation on the little island and then began looking for minerals on Curacao itself.
Sarah and Baby E waited in the partial shade while I clambered through thorn briers and over fallen walls to explore the Newtown complex.
The Short Lived Newtown Operation
In 1880 Mr. Godden opened the Newtown mine. The cluster of larger buildings were built in a unique style for the island and appear to be where the headquarters was centered. Further along, the second cluster was most likely the place where the ore was processed. The large gravel ridge upon which the “Tree of Souls” is growing was a manmade dam.
The Newtown Mine ruins in Curacao.
Unfortunately for Mr. Godden and his investors, the mine was not a financial success. Sources indicate that it shut down after just one year of operations and the machinery was hauled away, leaving only the abandoned buildings. Perhaps the mine’s short history is why so little seems to be written about it.
What About this Tree of Souls in Curacao?
The tree at the end of our trek is one of the largest gum trees on the island. This type of tree is locally known as a Palu di Sia or “saddle tree” since its soft wood was once used to make donkey saddles. I refer to this particular tree as the “Tree of Souls” since that is how it was introduced to us in the tourist booklet, but I have found no other sources that call the tree by that name. It may have just been a marketing decision by the organization that put together the booklet.
Despite appearing ancient in this arid landscape, the tree is growing on top of a manmade dam that was most likely constructed in 1880. Hence, it is unlikely that it is more than 135 years old.
Want to Explore Other Curacao Ruins?
While researching the history of the Newtown Mine, I came across this site. It has the most informative and complete write-up of the ruins that I could find. I see that the author has visited a number of other ruins on the island and his descriptions could serve as a starting point when researching possible adventures. I just wish I’d come across it while I was still on the island.