Panama: Canal, Highlands & Pacific Coast

DAY 1 Pipeline Road, Soberania National Park; 3-4 miles, 2-3 hours. Chagres River and the Embera; c

This morning you meet your naturalist guide in the lobby after breakfast. Leaving the hotel, you pass the town of Gamboa, home to the Panama Canal’s dredging division and continue on to Soberania National Park’s world-renowned Pipeline Road, where you spend the day walking. The Pipeline Road is the site of the Audubon Society’s 1996 famous world Christmas Bird Count, when more than 500 species of birds were identified in a period of 24 hours. During World War II, a pipeline was built along the Panama Canal to transport fuel from one ocean to the other in the event the waterway was attacked. Fortunately, it was never used.

Today, the road built to maintain the pipeline provides excellent access to primary rainforests within Soberania National Park, one of the essential supports underlying the working and conservation of the Panama Canal. The moist forests of Soberania are its main feature, with impressive examples of the Ceiba tree (Kapok), royal palms, and wild plum—whose fruit feeds many of the park’s birds and mammals. Only 45 minutes from Panama City, Soberania’s 293,000 acres are home to some 525 species of birds, including the Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Broad-billed Motmot, Blue Cotinga, and a great array of migrants (during the North American winter months). Soberania is also home to 105 species of mammals—including large felines, tamandua, two- and three-toed sloths, four species of monkeys, agouti—some of which are listed as endangered species, and 59 endemic plant species in four life zones.

Late morning, you are driven to El Corotu on the shores of Madden Lake. Here you board a motorized piragua (dugout canoe) and travel up the Chagres River to an Embera indigenous village. The Embera people are native to the Chagres River and Darien regions of Panama with warrior traditions. Inviting visitors is a way for them to share their traditional culture and practices and coexist with the modern world. The boat journey takes you through the rainforest of the 320,000-acre Chagres National Park, which is the largest of the national parks surrounding and protecting the Panama Canal Watershed. Along the Chagres River, you may spot little Blue and Green Heron, Keel-billed Toucans, and osprey flying above. At the Embera village you are greeted with dancing and music, and you learn about Embera customs and their relationship with nature. After a picnic lunch you walk to the nearby waterfall where you can swim in the crystal-clear waters of the Chagres River before returning to your resort.

In the evening you regroup for a Caribbean-inspired gourmet dinner at the hotel.

DAY 2 Panama Canal rainforest boat adventure. Transfer to Chiriqui Highlands

Following breakfast, you board a specially equipped expedition boat and depart on an adventure that includes a voyage across Gatun Lake in the Panama Canal. Plying the canal, you pass enormous cargo ships transiting the waterway—in contrast with the lush natural surroundings. Along the way, you may spot green iguanas resting on tree branches, crocodiles, ospreys hunting for peacock bass, and snail kites among other species. The expedition boat brings you close to rainforest-covered islands in Gatun Lake, its forest canopy the habitat of intriguing animals—the indigenous Red-naped Tamarin, White-faced Capuchin, and Howler monkey. On a nearby island, a picnic lunch is unpacked with extraordinary views of the Panama Canal, lake, and forest.

After the boat excursion, you make your way to the Albrook Domestic Airport, where you board the one-hour scheduled flight to David, capital of Chiriquí province, in western Panama. Chiriquí is known as “Panama’s breadbasket” and boasts some of the most breathtaking highland scenery in Central America. From the airport in David a one-hour drive brings you to Boquete, a charming mountain town located in a high valley on the eastern foothills of Baru Volcano.

You are welcomed to your home for the next two nights, a lovely family-owned finca, or coffee estate, within a private preserve in Boquete, in the buffer zone of the Baru Volcano National Park.

DAY 3 Finca Lerida; 3 hours. Afternoon: à la Carte

A morning walk from the finca allows you to continue enjoying the diverse flora and fauna of the nature reserve. At an elevation of 7,500 feet, the area offers a great opportunity to continue your search for the Resplendent Quetzal as well as the Three-wattled Bellbird, Volcano Hummingbird, and Long-tailed Silky Flycatcher in their cool habitat of orchids, bromeliads, and wild avocados. You walk through lush vegetation and return to the family coffee farm in time for a delicious lunch.

This afternoon you can choose from a range of active and cultural options. For an in-depth look into coffee production, you are invited on an interactive coffee tour at your finca, one of the oldest and most traditional estates in the Boquete area. Its award-winning coffee is exported worldwide. Another cultural option is to take a short ride to the quaint town of Boquete to stroll and browse its main square and shops. For another perspective on the region, you can join your guide on one of his favorite walks in the area. Lastly, you are also invited to walk and relax on the lovely grounds of your lodge, a prime bird-watching center. Dinner in the finca’s inviting dining room features fresh local produce and ingredients prepared in traditional European dishes.

DAY 4 Chiriquí Highlands, Baru Volcano National Park; 5 miles, 3 hours. Transfer to Isla Boca Brava

Following breakfast, featuring the finca’s own excellent coffee, you set off on the day’s walk through the scenic valley below Baru Volcano, the highest peak of the country at 11,400 feet above sea level. The route leads into the cloudforests of Baru Volcano National Park, and you stop periodically along the way to enjoy the views of the fertile Boquete valley, searching the skies and tree canopies for colorful birds and slow moving sloths. A landscape of rolling hills on country roads unfolds, the route lined by coffee plantations and other cultivated fields.

After the walk, you depart for a two-hour drive to the Pacific Coast, where your private boat is waiting to bring you to the Archipelago de Chiriquí and Isla Boca Brava. An exhilarating boat ride enters the archipelago and sea that make up the Parque Nacional Marino Golfo de Chiriquí, a 36,000-acre marine park encompassing two dozen islands, their surrounding open waters, and estuaries. The refuge is home to marine and land wildlife, including Howler monkeys, Leatherback and Hawksbill turtles, and Tiger Herons. Your home for the next two nights is on one of the larger islands at the edge of the park, Boca Brava. Approximately 10 miles long and four miles wide, its topography is as rich as its flora and fauna, with a grassy interior sloping to a coast composed of idyllic and empty beaches, estuaries, and mangrove wetlands.

Upon checking in at your seaside boutique hotel, a tropical cocktail signals your arrival, and you have ample time to take a first dip in the warm waters of the Pacific or enjoy the calm bay by kayak. The dining room serves the bounty of the property’s own organic gardens and nearby waters in a fusion of Mediterranean and Latin American tastes.

DAY 5 Isla Boca Brava; à la Carte

Awakening just yards from a white sand beach and the tranquil waters of the bay in your
private bungalow, you can consider the day’s many options at breakfast overlooking the Pacific.

The hotel itself offers a balance of relaxation and activity on its palm-lined beaches, featuring a swimming and sunbathing platform and complimentary sea kayaks. Spa services are also available at the hotel (at your own expense). Venturing to a neighboring island, a day of beach relaxation and underwater exploration with snorkel and fins in the company of your guide await (included in the tour cost). Further afield, a horseback-riding excursion allows you to explore the island’s gently rolling hills and fields at its center, and wide-open beaches (included in the tour cost). Leaving the island by boat, you can partake in world-class deep-sea fishing off the banks of the island of Coiba. This full-day excursion puts takes you to the brilliant azure waters of the Pacific (not included in the tour cost).

In the early evening you gravitate toward the resort’s bar and restaurant with its panoramic views, first to sip a cocktail and then proceed to dinner, exchanging stories about the day’s activities.

DAY 6 Transfer to Panama City. Miraflores Locks and Casco Viejo

After a leisurely morning at your coastal retreat you make your way back to Panama City by boat through rich mangrove estuaries to the city of David for your one-hour flight. En route, you enjoy a local lunch at Pedregal Port prior to your flight.

Upon arrival this afternoon, you transfer to Miraflores Locks and the Panama Canal Visitors Center to watch the locks in action as giant cargo ships and small personal sailboats pass through. The visitors’ center provides in-depth information regarding the Canal with interactive exhibits that explain the history and workings of the Canal and its surrounding forests and waterways.

After the Canal, you check into your hotel and head out to the Casco Viejo, the colonial section of the city, where you walk its cobblestone streets. Also known as the Casco Antiguo or “Old Part,” UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site in 1997. The colorful buildings, outdoor cafés, and wrought iron balconies give this section of town a romantic feel—away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Panama City. On foot, you admire architecture that spans centuries and tells intriguing historical tales while your guide discusses current day politics as Casco Viejo goes through major restoration. Be sure to have your camera ready for the ample photo opportunities.

This evening you celebrate your discovery of Panama and raise your glass to new friends at a favorite city restaurant.

DAY 7 Departure

The tour concludes after breakfast and individual airport transfers to the Tocumen International Airport are provided 2½ hours prior to your scheduled departure flight.