The Story of the Blue Room Curaçao
Discover the Blue Room in Curaçao, it is one of the coolest and most talked about experiences in the entire Caribbean and a perfect place for off-gassing between dives or for a wonderful snorkel trip.
Located next to Mushroom Forest at the end of a one kilometer stretch of land in the Santa Cruz area of Banda Abou, you will find a small opening at water level that could be passed by easily without thinking too much about it.
Where the Blue Room story begins
In the past, divers were happily distracted exploring one of the Caribbean’s most renowned sites: the inimitable Mushroom Forest, just a few lazy fin-kicks from the narrow cliffside entrance.
Curaçao was still off the radar then, so divers attracted to the more bucolic West End were focused on sites like Alice in Wonderland, Mushroom Forest, and the exhilarating Watamula.
Once in the water, the allure of dizzyingly clear blue water and dramatic healthy reefs kept divers busy. Wishing the air in their tanks was unending, they descended the life-packed sloping walls rather than heading toward shore, except to return, reluctantly, to the boat.
Since then, Curaçao has attracted more attention, enthusiasts are increasingly visiting the West End and staying on for their entire dive holiday. Like good dive shops everywhere, local establishments have spent their free time looking for new, exciting, and unique places to take their clients.
Eventually, some intrepid explorer ventured beneath the foot-high slit that marks the entrance of the open-air water cavern to discover the Blue Room.
Blue Room Curaçao – An Essential Vacation Experience
As mentioned above, the Blue Room did not begin as a dive site. It originally appealed to antsy divers as a perfect place to go off-gas between scuba forays into the nearby Mushroom Forest.
The Blue Room is easily explored by snorkelers and once you duck under the narrow opening, the small cavern opens up to an air-filled chamber, complete with tiny bats.
Only about 20-feet deep, it was a perfect jaunt between dives, and a good breath could take almost anyone to the bottom.
The Word Spread
The word has spread about this unique experience, especially the light. The color of the water seems to magically change to an electric vivid blue upon entering the chamber. Flickers of reflected light dance off the ceiling and the seafloor, creating a sense of wonder, as if one had passed through a magical portal.
The light is Perfect!
Once you start to talk about light, magic, and wonder, pretty soon you’ve got professional photographers asking about it. This was the moment that a tiny, air-filled chamber mostly enjoyed by snorkelers between dives, went from a West End novelty to a West End must-dive.
Underwater photographers discovered the Blue Room. The first famous name to capture the Blue Room was World acclaimed Wildlife Photographer Amos Nachoum back in 2006 while on a photo expedition with then Sport Diver Editor, Ty Sawyer. Amos Nachoum is a light wrangler and the Blue Room was nirvana for the Photographer, Explorer, and Conservationist.
Although there are no big animals, it is a big experience in an intimate space. And, if you happen to ask Amos today, we are sure that he’ll list the Blue Room among his favorite dive experiences in the Caribbean, not just Curaçao, since he described the light in the Blue Room as “perfect”, according to Ty.
Exploring
Once people started to regularly explore the Blue Room with scuba tanks, they discovered more than just the ethereal light. They found surfaces covered by orange cup coral, filled with micro wonders. And then they saw that images of the blue were complemented by a flamboyant orange.
Lurking in the shadows year-round you’ll find copper sweepers, a small gold-bronze fish that looks like it’s swimming upside down. And, in the late days of August through September, the Blue Room fills with silversides, which light up the cavern as they move and flow like mercury.
Dive in to this Essential Curaçao Vacation Experience
Now, more than just an afterthought, the Blue Room has become an essential Curaçao experience. And, that light… unforgettable.
