点评:Arikok National Park is a unique attraction with some great upsides, but also limitations.
The park itself covers a large part of Aruba. The topography here differs greatly from the northwestern side of the island around the resort areas, Noord, and Oranjestad. This is very much a desert, with mostly scrub and cacti for vegetation. Particularly on the northern part, you really would not want to swim here as you would either be pulled out to sea or smashed on the sharp rocks.
The park can be a very different experience depending on how you come here. There are countless adventure tours available privately by 4x4 jeep, UTV's, or even horses. You'll need to hire those outside of the park and they cater to tourists. The Conchi pool, perhaps the most popular site in the park, cannot be accessed by regular cars or even SUVs. If that is what you want, consider a tour or 4x4/UTV rental.
There is a visitor center where they charge you for the visit. We were unimpressed by the visitor center. Immediately after paying, we were given wristbands emphasizing that we were traveling at our own risk and that there were no refunds (both of which we assumed anyway). Then a park employee handed us a map, rattled off the sites in a bored way, and sent us on our way. The admission fee was $22 per person.
In our case, we rented an SUV (not a 4x4) because we didn't intend to drive off road. Even with the SUV, it was slow going down the one road due to frequent dips. The speed limit parkwide is 20 kph/12 mph and given the road conditions you really won't want to go any faster. Be prepared for a slow and bumpy ride.
This is a desert park for the most part. For us, the best part was as we approached the water, as there were great views. Boca Pins is worth a stop to see the beach and dramatic rocks (but, again, don't even think of swimming here). Further along is the Quadirikiri Cave, which is larger than you would expect and well worth a stop. You'll probably need your cell phone flashlight in parts, but it is well lit at the end.
There are many hiking trails totaling around 20 miles which we did not attempt due to the sun and heat.
No matter how you are traveling, you must bring water -- there are no amenities within the park other than the entrance at the far west end (and even those are limited).
Our total time here was about 2-3 hours. If you continue past the park exit on the southeast, there are some nice beaches only a few miles further. San Nicholas is also worth a visit for lunch and to see all the cool murals (map at the San Nicholas tourist office).
翻译:阿里科克国家公园是一处独具特色的旅游景点,拥有诸多优点,但也存在一定的局限性。
公园占据了阿鲁巴岛的大部分地区。这里的地形与岛西北部的度假区、诺德和奥拉涅斯塔德一带的地形大相径庭。这里基本属于沙漠地带,植被以灌丛和仙人掌为主。尤其是在北部地区,游客绝对不宜在此游泳,因为很容易被海浪卷走,或是撞上尖锐的岩石而受伤。根据前来方式的不同,游览这座公园的体验也会大相径庭。市面上有无数由私人经营的探险旅游项目,可乘坐四驱吉普车、全地形车,甚至骑马进行游览。这些服务需在公园外预订,且专门为游客提供。康奇池或许是公园里最受欢迎的景点,但普通轿车甚至SUV都无法抵达那里。如果您希望前往那里,不妨考虑报名参加旅游团或租用四驱车/全地形车。
公园内设有一个游客中心,进入需支付门票费用。我们对那个游客中心印象不佳。付完费后,我们立刻被发给了腕带,上面写着游客需自行承担风险,且不予退款(其实我们早料到了这两点)。随后,一位公园工作人员递给我们一张地图,兴致缺缺地快速介绍了各个景点,就打发我们离开了。门票价格为每人22美元。
我们这次租了一辆SUV(并非四驱车),因为我们并不打算进行越野驾驶。即便开着SUV也……由于路面频繁出现下凹,沿着那条路行驶十分缓慢。整个公园内的限速为每小时20公里/12英里,考虑到路况,你真的没必要开得更快。请做好经历一段缓慢且颠簸旅程的心理准备。
这片公园大部分区域都是沙漠地带。对我们来说,最棒的部分就是快接近水边时,那里的景色十分迷人。博卡派恩斯值得一去,可以欣赏海滩以及形态奇特的岩石群(不过,还是再次提醒:千万别在这里游泳)。再往前走就是奎迪里里洞穴。这里比想象中要大得多,绝对值得一逛。某些区域可能需要用手电筒照明,但最尽头的地方灯光充足。
公园内有总长约20英里的多条徒步路线,不过由于天气炎热且阳光强烈,我们并未尝试。
无论以何种方式前来,都务必带上水——除了最西端的入口处外,公园内没有任何设施(而且入口处的设施也相当有限)。
我们在这里停留了大约2到3个小时。如果您从公园的东南出口继续前行,再走几英里就能看到一些很不错的海滩。圣尼古拉斯也值得一去,您可以在此享用午餐,还能欣赏到各种酷炫的壁画(地图可在圣尼古拉斯旅游信息中心获取)。