The Divi-Divi Trees

The divi-divi, Caesalpinia coriaria, is a small thorny tree that grows across Aruba's dry interior, and it has become the island's emblem for one reason: the trade wind blows from the northeast almost every day of the year with enough consistency that the trees grow permanently bent, all of them leaning southwest at roughly the same angle. Arubans say that if you are lost you can navigate by them, which is true. The pods were used for tanning leather and were an export in their own right before the gold and the oil. They grow slowly and the bent old ones are decades old.

What you actually see

• The lean - every tree bent southwest by the constant trade wind.
• The concentration in Arikok - stands of them across the park's interior.
• The pods - once exported for tanning leather.
• Navigating by them - the local claim, which works.

When to go

Year-round; the wind blows constantly. Late afternoon light on the leaning trees against the dry scrub is when photographers work. They grow across the interior and are unmissable once you notice them.

Honest expectations

There is no particular place to go; they are simply everywhere in the interior. The most photographed ones near the hotel strip have been damaged by people climbing on them for pictures. They are slow-growing and the old bent specimens cannot be replaced quickly.

Nearby

Arikok has the densest stands; the interior roads pass them everywhere.