Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Running 80km across the isthmus between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, straddling
the provinces of Panama and Colón, the Panama Canal remains a colossus among en-
gineering achievements, a truly awe-inspiring sight and justifiably the country's prime
tourist attraction. What's more, it can easily be explored on an excursion from Panama
City, with the Centro de Visitantes de Miraflores offering the best location from which
to view the action. Though the corridor that flanks this vital thoroughfare is home to
almost two-thirds of Panama's population, for much of its length the waterway cleaves
through pristine rainforest, large tracts of which are protected within national parks.
Parque Nacional Soberanía
is one of the most accessible tropical rainforest preserves in
Latin America, while
Isla Barro Colorado
is home to the world-renowned Smithsonian In-
stitute. Both support an exceptional degree of biodiversity and offer easy day-trips from the
capital. The quiet town of
Gamboa
is the embarkation point for excursions to the island
and for most tours offering partial transits of the canal; it is also the starting point for rain-
forest hikes and birdwatching outings along the famous Camino del Oleoducto (Pipeline
Road). Three of the area's national parks - Soberanía, the smaller adjacent
Parque Nacional
Camino de Cruces
and the larger, less accessible
Parque Nacional Chagres
- also offer the
opportunity to walk along the remnants of the historic, partially cobbled Camino de Cruces
and the Camino Real, which mule trains carved across the forested spine of the isthmus in
colonial times to transport Spain's plundered treasures from Panama City to the Caribbean
coast.
The canal reaches the Atlantic at
Colón
, Panama's second city, synonymous with poverty
and crime in the minds of many Panamanians, yet compelling and rich in history, with a
strong Afro-Antillean and Afro-Colonial heritage. Either side of Colón stretch kilometres of
Caribbean coastline peppered with small communities, more or less untainted by tourist de-
velopment, as well as the country's most impressive colonial ruins. To the west, along the
Costa Abajo
, the formidable remains of the colonial
Fuerte San Lorenzo
still guard the
mouth of the Río Chagres amid untouched tropical rainforest; to the northeast lies the
Costa
Arriba
, an isolated region of rich coral reefs and laidback fishing villages, much of which is
nominally protected by the
Parque Nacional Portobelo
, set around the ruins and beautiful
natural harbour of the old Spanish port of
Portobelo
.
At the Pacific end of the canal, some two hours by boat from Panama City, lies the
Ar-
chipiélago de las Perlas
. A former hideout of privateers and pirates and a long-standing
weekend refuge for the capital's social elite, the archipelago's translucent waters and
powdered beaches offer a pricey slice of tranquillity.
