Zion's Hill, also known by its former name Hell's Gate, is a town on the

Dutch Caribbean The Dutch Caribbean (historically known as the Dutch West Indies) are the New World territories, colonies, and countries (former and current) of the Dutch Empire and the Kingdom of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea, mainly the norther ...

island of

Saba Saba may refer to: Places * Saba (island), an island of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea * Sabá, a municipality in the department of Colón, Honduras * Șaba or Șaba-Târg, the Romanian name for Shabo, a village in Ukraine * Saba, ...

.The villages of Saba (Saba Tourist Bureau)
/ref> Locally, it is divided into Upper Hell's Gate and Lower Hell's Gate. Upper Hell's Gate is the highest village in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, at an altitude of above sea level. Lower Hell's Gate is located approximately above sea level. On some maps, Lower Hell's Gate includes

Flat Point Flat Point (or Flat Point Peninsula) is an area on the northeastern coast of Saba (island), Saba, an island in the Dutch Caribbean. It is located in the lower part of the Zion's Hill, Hell's Gate village, known as Lower Hell's Gate. Flat Point is ...

, location of the Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport and the

Flat Point Tide Pools The Flat Point Tide Pools (or Saba Tide Pools) are located on the coast of Saba, in the Dutch Caribbean. They are located on the Flat Point peninsula Lower Hell's Gate. These tide pools feature large lava rock formations filled with colorful ...

Name

Hell's Gate was officially named "Zion's Hill" after complaints from the church forced the island's government to change the name. However, "Hell's Gate" is still commonly used by many Sabans as well as tourists.

History

The first permanent European settlements on Saba began in the 1640s. By the 1860s, Hell's Gate was one of 7 main districts, with

The Bottom The Bottom (formerly ''Botte'') is the capital and largest town of the island of Saba (island), Saba, the Caribbean Netherlands. It is the first stop on the way from Saba's Port in Fort Bay towards the rest of the island. In 2001, it had 462 in ...

, St. John's, Windwardside, Booby Hill, Mary's Point (Palmetto Point), and Middle Island. The Hell's Gate district had its own elected head, as did the other districts. In 1865, the population of Hell's Gate was 161. Throughout the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, most men in Hell's Gate engaged in farming as well as fishing. Some men in Hell's Gate made a living from

lime burning A lime kiln is a kiln used for the calcination of limestone (calcium carbonate) to produce the form of lime called ''quicklime'' (calcium oxide). The chemical equation for this reaction is: CaCO3 + heat → CaO + CO2 This reaction can tak ...

. Most women engaged in domestic work in the home, as well as local

drawn thread work Drawn thread work is one of the earliest forms of open work embroidery, and has been worked throughout Europe. Originally it was often used for ecclesiastical items and to ornament shrouds. It is a form of counted-thread embroidery based on remo ...

known as Saba lace. For a time, women in Hell's Gate engaged in

hatmaking Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners made and sold a range of accessories for clothing and hairstyles. ...

. By 1900, Hell's Gate was one of four main villages on Saba, along with The Bottom, St. John's, and Windwardside. In 1911, the Queen of The Holy Rosary Church was built in Hell's Gate. The church was rebuilt in stone in the 1960s. The 1950s and 1960s were a time of infrustructural milestones for Hell's Gate. In 1958, Saba's primary road, "

The Road ''The Road'' is a 2006 post-apocalyptic novel by American writer Cormac McCarthy. The book details the grueling journey of a father and his young son over several months across a landscape blasted by an unspecified cataclysm that has destroyed ...

", was extended to Hell's Gate. Before then, residents of Hell's Gate had to rely on footpaths to reach the closest village, Windwardside. In 1964, public electricity reached Hell's Gate. Until then, the village had relied on

gas lamps Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a fuel gas such as methane, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either directly by ...

for streetlights, as well as inside the home. Juancho E Yrausquin Airport

In 1959, Remy de Haenen, made the first landing of an aircraft on the island, at Flat Point, in Lower Hell's Gate. Nearly the entire population of the island was in attendance. In 1963, the Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport airport officially began service on Flat Point. "The Road" was extended to the airport that year. The airport's runway is widely acknowledged as the shortest commercial runway in the world, with a length of . The early- to mid- 1900s saw extensive emigration from Saba. By 1972, the populations of the three other villages had decreased significantly. However, in Hell's Gate, the population had increased to 206 inhabitants. In the 1970s, a

microwave transmitter Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than other radio waves but longer than infrared waves. Its wavelength ranges from about one meter to one millimeter, corresponding to frequencies between 300 MHz and ...

was built in Hell's Gate. Construction was carried out by the West Indies Television Network, and the transmitter linked to television studios in

St. Maarten Sint Maarten () is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean region of North America. With a population of 58,477 as of June 2023 on an area of , it encompasses the southern 44% of the divided island of ...

. In 2019, solar parks in Hell's Gate (adjacent to the airport) and The Bottom became operational. For up to 10 hours a day, the entire island of Saba is powered by

solar energy Solar energy is the radiant energy from the Sun's sunlight, light and heat, which can be harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating) and solar architecture. It is a ...

from these two solar parks and their battery storage.

Main sights

Hell's Gate is home to Queen of The Holy Rosary Church, a stone structure built in 1962, in place of its original wooden structure dating back to 1911. It is also home to the a community center and "Lace Boutique" where visitors can purchase locally made Saba lace and Saba spice, a locally brewed

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...

drink. The Neighborhood, English Quarter belongs to the town.

Hiking trails

Upper Hell's Gate is a trailhead for the Sandy Cruz Trail, which ends in

. The trail takes roughly 2 hours to complete (2.5 if begun in The Bottom), and has views of Diamond Rock and the northern coastline. Lower Hell's Gate is home to the McNish Sulfur Mine, a now-closed sulfur mine where visitors may explore with caution. It can be reached via the Sulphur Mine Trail, which begins between Upper and Lower Hell's gate. It is part of Saba's Terrestrial Park. The trail has views of Green Island, the ocean, cliffs, and the

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

. Lower Hell's Gate is also the main trailhead for the North Coast Trail. The trail takes roughly 3.5 hours to complete and has views of Saba's northern coastline and the ruins of the historic Mary's Point village. Flat Point is the main trailhead for the Flat Point Trail. The hike leads to the Flat Point Tide Pools, and is about 15–25 minutes each way. The trail passes by the ruins of an indigo boiling house from a 17th-18th century plantation. The trail access is located between the airport and

Cove Bay Cove Bay, known locally as Cove, is a suburb on the south-east edge of Aberdeen, Scotland. Today Cove is home to around 8,000 people. It is a popular residential location owing to its village-like status. It is a quiet suburb at the Southern e ...

. Hikers are cautioned about

rip currents A rip current (or just rip) is a specific type of water current that can occur near beaches where waves break. A rip is a strong, localized, and narrow current of water that moves directly away from the shore by cutting through the lines of bre ...

and sharp rocks.

Transport

Zion's Hill is the first town one reaches after leaving the Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport. They can travel the island by

Gallery

File:Saba airport 2.jpg, Saba's airport, with Hell's Gate on the mountain behind it File:Saba airport.jpg, Saba's airport on Flat Point, with road winding up through Lower Hell's Gate File:Saba01-Krasowski.jpg, Cove Bay, as seen from Lower Hell's Gate File:Hell's Gate Bus Stop, Horizontal (6550009427).jpg, Bus stop in Upper Hell's Gate, on "The Road" File:West-Indië. Saba. Woonhuizen op de berghellingen van Hell's Gate, Bestanddeelnr 935-1514.jpg, Houses in Lower Hell's Gate, in the 1940s File:Saba. Brigadier Halley loopt over een geplaveid pad in Hell´s Gate, Bestanddeelnr 935-1261.jpg, A sergeant walking a paved path in Hell's Gate, in the 1940s

References

External links

{{Populated places in Saba Populated places in Saba (island)