Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Playa Agallito
Buses between Chitré and Playa Agallito, via Av Herrera, run every 30min (6am-6pm; 15-20min); a taxi should
cost $4-5
Despite the continued clearing of mangroves to make way for shrimp farms, the silty mud and
salt flats of
Playa Agallito
still provide sustenance for thousands of
shore birds
and
waders
,
many migratory, who return to the same spot to feed each year. This avian feast is the main
reason to come here, as it's one of the country's top spots for catching sight of the splendid
roseate spoonbill as well as American oystercatchers and wood storks, amid a potpourri of
terns, egrets, herons and sandpipers. The best time to visit - bring the binoculars - is at high
tide when birds feed close to shore.
Parque Nacional de Sarigua
The park entrance is located off the Carretera Nacional just north of Parita • Daily 8am-4pm • $5
A little further up the coast from Playa Agallito,
PARQUE NACIONAL DE SARIGUA
comprises a desert-like wasteland, covered with a layer of surreal bronze-coloured dust. Bird-
life is restricted to a coastal sliver of threatened mangrove. This eighty-square-kilometre pro-
tected reserve stretches out into the Bahía de Parita and is squeezed between Río Santa María
and Río Parita on land. Behind the mangroves, vast salt flats and tracts of dry forest lie bleak
saline-streaked gullies dotted with cactus, acacia and snowy blobs of wild cotton. Less a tour-
ist attraction, as it is often heralded, than a cautionary tale, Sarigua is testament to the dev-
astating consequences of a century of slash-and-burn agriculture and overgrazing, which has
made it by far the hottest and driest area in the country.
The silver lining to this sad tale of environmental degradation is that the resulting erosion
has helped uncover important
archeological remains
, including evidence of an eleven-
thousand-year-old fishing village, the oldest known settlement on the isthmus, and more re-
cent traces (between fifteen hundred and five thousand years ago) of an ancient farming com-
munity. When walking around the park it's easy to stumble on shards of ancient ceramics
or discarded shells, just as the sparse vegetation makes it easier to spot boas curled around
parched branches, armadillos digging in the undergrowth or lizards and iguanas sunning
themselves. The landscape is best appreciated from the top of the rickety
mirador
by the
ranger station
, from where you can also make out distant shrimp farms. Rangers offer
guided walks
for a tip, but note that the park is rather undeveloped, with only one very short
trail
so far.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: PARQUE NACIONAL DE SARIGUA
By bus and taxi
To reach Sarigua either take a bus to Parita and a taxi ($3) from there, or
take a taxi from Chitré ($10).
By car
The turn-off is well signposted off the Carretera Nacional north of Parita; note that
4WD is necessary in the rainy season.
