This narrow, snaking stretch of land divides the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and the north and south American continents. Panama has long been one of the world’s greatest crossroads – far before the construction of its famous canal. Probably the most sophisticated, open-minded and outward-looking society in Central America, Panama has been shaped over the centuries by diverse communities originating from Spain, Africa, China, India and Europe. The comparatively high level of economic development and use of the US dollar also make it one of the more expensive countries in the region, but the scope for wildlife-viewing and adventure-travel is excellent.
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Panama City is the most striking capital city in Central America, with its cosmopolitan and contradictory multiple personalities reflected in the frenzied energy of its international banking centre, the casual street-life of its old colonial quarter, its polished nightlife and the antiseptic order of the US-built Canal Zone. Located in the centre of the country, Panama City is a natural base from which to explore many of the country’s most popular destinations, including its best-known attraction, the monumental Panama Canal.
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Stretching 80km from Panama City to the northern city of Colón, the Panama Canal is a work of engineering brilliance. One of the largest and most ambitious human endeavours, the waterway allows massive vessels to traverse the isthmus in less than one day, thus avoiding a journey south and around Cape Horn. To the east of the canal lies the rainforest of Parque Nacional Soberanía, the greatest possible contrast to its mechanical might. Delve into the park’s humming, humid atmosphere on one of its many accessible pathways, and you’ll discover unparalleled biodiversity. Colón, at the Atlantic entrance to the canal, and only a boat or train or bus ride away from Panama City, seems like a different world from the capital. A brief tour of the poverty-stricken city will leave you in no doubt as to the canal’s socioeconomic importance and the depth of Panama’s social inequalities. Some 45km northeast of Colón lies another port – Portobelo – whose glory days are even more distant. Its riches once proved irresistible to such pirates as Sir Francis Drake and Henry Morgan, though its once-mighty fortifications are now atmospheric ruins.
Image Credit: Mesoamérica Sin Hambre FAO- AMEXCID
Southeast of Panama City stretches Darién, the infamously wild expanse of rainforest between Central and South America, while to the north, along the Caribbean coastline, Guna Yala is the autonomous homeland of the Guna, who live in beautiful isolation on the coral atolls of the Guna Yala Archipelago. West of Panama City, the Carretera Interamericana runs through the Pacific coastal plain, Panama’s agricultural heartland. This region lures travellers intrigued by the nature reserves and folklore traditions of the Azuero Peninsula, also a major surf destination, and the protected cloud forests of the Chiriquí Highlands on the Costa Rican border. The mostly uninhabited Caribbean coast west of the canal meets Costa Rica near the remote archipelago of Bocas del Toro, a popular holiday destination thanks to its largely unspoiled rainforests, beaches, coral reefs, surfing hot spots and laid-back vibe.
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Panama's wild nature is increasingly drawing in tourists and the most popular destination now is Bocas del Toro, a group of 68 Caribbean islands 32km from the Costa Rican border. Here is where primary rainforest meets the sea. Beautiful beaches, surf breaks and a backpacker scene attracts independent travellers to Bocas Del Toro town on Isla Colon, while nature-fanatics head to several ecolodges on the nearby islands and promontories, which have opened in the last few years. Bocas is particularly special because three ecosystems meet: mangrove, reef and rainforest. The region is more biodiverse than almost anywhere else on earth: Iguanas, capuchin monkeys, sloths, anteaters, boa constrictors, armadillos and hundreds of rare birds live here. Panama has 125 endemic animal species, 218 mammal species, 226 reptile and 950 bird.
Title Image Credit: Tatiana Travelways (Image Cropped)