Panama City is a city of contrasts – from the Miami style skyscrapers along the coast, to the beautiful colonial Casco Viejo (old town), and on to the Panama Viejo site, where the original city was built in the 1500s. It’s also backed by thick rainforest, which makes wildlife spotting activities very accessible. It is most famous for its incredible 77km Panama Canal, and rightly so. The Canal is a major 20th century engineering feat that has shaped how international shipping now works worldwide. Besides being crucial to trade, for visitors it’s fascinating to experience how it works and learn about the history behind it. Just outside the city, fringing the Panama Canal, you’ll find the tropical oasis of Soberanía National Park. A nature walk here will have you searching for sloths, monkeys, coatis, snakes, and many different types of colourful birds! The Canal area also hosts the Panama Railway (used to transport silver and gold) as well as a number of fantastic hiking routes.
Bocas del Toro consists of an archipelago of three main islands: Isla Bastimientos, Isla Colon, Isla Carenero, and you can easily hop between islands with quick scheduled boat services. It has a fabulous Caribbean flavour, is backed by lush tropical rainforest and is also home to some of Panama’s indigenous communities.
The Chiriquí highlands offer a welcome breath of fresh air from the heat and humidity you’ll find in the rest of the country. The fertile volcanic soils produce numeros crops – notably cacao, tropical fruits and coffee.
The Azuero Peninsula is where you will find Panama’s folkloric culture – a combination of Spanish origins with native Panamanian influences. This is a particularly artistic part of the country where you will find beautiful typical Panamanian skirts called ‘polleras’ and many handicrafts based on pre-Columbian designs.
Colon is a city that lies at the Caribbean entrance of the Panama Canal and is an important centre for trade and commerce in Latin America. For train lovers, it’s worth travelling here via the Panama Canal Railway, passing by the Panama Canal, Chagres River and spectacularly lush mountain ranges.
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