Top 10 wild adventures in Panama
21.07.2023 - 08:42
/ roughguides.com
/ Frank Gehry
Panama is famous for its canal (of course) and, increasingly, for its Old City. But there is much more to this Central American country than shipping and history – it’s also a tropical paradise to rival neighbouring Costa Rica. Here’s our list of the 10 best wildlife adventures in Panama.
You don’t even need to leave Panama City to get back to nature. What other capital can boast of a rainforest inside its limits? The Parque Natural Metropolitano is part of the green belt protecting the watershed of the Panama Canal. It has hiking trails, a forest canopy crane and countless birds, monkeys and other fauna and flora to spot as well as a butterfly house.
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You can’t grasp Panama’s ecologic importance without first understanding its canal. Within easy reach of the city centre, this lock has an impressive four-storey Visitor's Centre dedicated to the history and biodiversity of the Panama Canal. Watching a massive ship ease through the lock is part of the experience. Several local tour companies also offer partial or complete transits through the canal, including Miraflores Lock, with guides explaining its environmental footprint.
Looking for inspiration for your trip? See our guide to the best things to do in Panama.
The Panama Canal is surrounded by rainforest © dani3315/Shutterstock
Panama is an isthmus linking North and South America, a meeting place for flora and fauna as well as weather systems from the Atlantic (Caribbean) and Pacific coasts. The result in terms of biodiversity (Panama has more species of birds than the US and Canada combined) is explored through interactive, child-friendly exhibits in Biomuseo, a colourful museum on the Amador Causeway. Designed by Frank Gehry, it’s his only building in Latin America.
The largest man-made lake in the world at the time was made during the construction of the Panama Canal by damming the Chagres River. Some 30km long, its store of water is essential to the operation of the canal’s locks and the success of the lake depends on the preservation of the rainforest around it. Small boat tours are an accessible way to learn about the lake’s ecology and see the varied wildlife, with a stop on Monkey Island to see and hear its many species of primates, including Capuchins, Tamarins and Howler monkeys.
A Striated Heron, one of the many species found along the Chagres River © Brian Lasenby/Shutterstock
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This centre is a paradise for birdwatchers, with the chance to spot over 500 species. A 40-meter tower takes you into the forest canopy to see toucans, while a lake attracts species