Den Paradera Herb Garden

Dinah Veeris spent years travelling the island recording what older people knew about plants and their uses before that knowledge disappeared, and Den Paradera is the garden she made from it: hundreds of species laid out with their Papiamentu names and traditional applications, from aloe and calabash to plants used in ritual as well as medicine. Tours are guided because the point is the knowledge rather than the display, and products are made on site.

What you actually see

• The medicinal species - hundreds of plants with their Papiamentu names and uses.
• The recorded knowledge - the oral tradition the founder gathered before it was lost.
• The guided tour - the explanation that is the substance of the visit.
• The on-site products - oils and preparations made from the garden.

When to go

Year round; tours run at set times and mornings are cooler. Booking is advised. It closes on some days.

Honest expectations

Visits are by guided tour only and must be timed to the schedule. The garden is modest to look at; the value is entirely in what is explained. Traditional uses described are not medical advice.

Nearby

Willemstad is east, and Sint Michiel is west.