Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The town centre
Most of the businesses are strung along the Interamericana and Avenida Central, which
branches west off the highway heading into the town centre, coming to an abrupt halt in
front of the impressive exterior of the
Catedral Santiago Apóstol
, now stunningly illu-
minated at night. Across the square stands the rather uninspiring - save for a few pre-
Columbian ceramics -
Museo Regional de Veraguas
(Mon-Fri 9am-4pm, Sat 9am-3pm;
free), housed in the former prison where three-time president Belisario Porras was incarcer-
ated during the civil war. In the centre of the plaza,
Parque Juan Demóstenes Arosemena
takes its name from the former president, who is revered here for choosing the town as the
site for Panama's first teacher-training institution. The college,
La Escuela Normal Juan
Demóstenes Arosemena
, lies several blocks northeast of the square on Calle 8A Norte and
is the architectural jewel of Santiago, with a majestic Baroque frontispiece.
Iglesia Atalaya
Atalaya, 8km southeast of Santiago • Buses from Santiago every 15min (30min)
From the outside, the
Iglesia Atalaya
resembles an inauspicious two-tier wedding cake; in-
side, its lofty vaulted ceilings covered in splendid frescoes and lovely stained-glass windows
more than compensate. Tucked away in a side altar, the Cristo de Atalaya, said to date back
from before 1730, is one of Panama's most venerated icons, a magnet for thousands of pil-
grims every first Sunday in Lent.
Iglesia San Francisco de la Montaña
San Francisco de la Montaña, 16km north of Santiago on the Santa Fé road • Take a Santa Fé-bound bus from
Santiago every 30min (20min); hop off at the fork by the police post and bear right a few hundred metres
The
Iglesia San Francisco de la Montaña
is on the road heading to the mountains of Santa
Fé, north of Santiago, in a village of the same name. The simplicity of the small stone church,
