THE GUIDE - The Rough Guide to Panama - page 195

The trails
The park's network of five interconnecting trails is concentrated in the southeastern section.
Easily accessible and relatively well demarcated, most are shady strolls, with one a moder-
ately strenuous hike through scenic forest.
Sendero Panama
The flattish Sendero Panamá (1.5km) is the main trail and leads to the other trails, first to the
moderately strenuous Sendero La Cruz, then senderos Rana Dorada and Zamora - both are
barely a few hundred metres long. The slightly longer Sendero Podocarpus , a little further
along, is, however, worth a detour. The trail eventually peters out and you can either return
the way you came, or turn right to descend what becomes a disintegrating asphalt road down
to the main road, where you can flag down a bus, or walk back down to the park entrance.
Sendero La Cruz
About 800m along the Sendero Panamá, the Sendero La Cruz climbs steeply to the right,
through trees dripping with epiphytes. Twenty minutes later the path forks: to the left it
climbs to the 1000m domed peak of Cerro Campana , the park's highest point, while to
the right it descends and then climbs again for another forty minutes, culminating in a giant
boulder topped with an enormous cross. Unless you're a proficient rock-climber, follow the
trail under the boulder for an easier clamber to the other side. Although at 860m Cerro La
Cruz is lower, it affords the better panorama, taking in the meandering Río Chame and the
distant blocks of the Pacific beach resorts, the rugged ridge of the Cordillera Central disap-
pearing into the distance.
Sendero Podocarpus
The Sendero Podocarpus (600m), a loop trail off the Sendero Panamá, takes you through
some of Panama's only native conifers of the same name, ending up in the park's campsite
at Refugio Los Pinos . To return to the Sendero Panamá, turn left at the T-junction below the
campsite, then left again once you reach the main path to return the way you came, or right
at the second junction to reach the main road.
ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION: PARQUE NACIONAL ALTOS DE
CAMPANA
By bus Take any San Carlos, Capira or Chame bus from the Albrook Bus Terminal to the
town of Capira, about 50km west of Panama City. Ask to be dropped off on the Interamer-
icana a few hundred metres after the Shell garage at Restaurante Lily's , where minibuses
bound for the mountain village of Chicá, via the park, depart (hourly, 7am-8pm, returning on
the hour; 40min).
By car The park is signposted off the Interamericana to the right 5km beyond Capira. You
can leave the car at the park entrance. Follow the path up beside the large house, where a sign
marks the trailhead.