BASICS - The Rough Guide to Panama - page 62

distant locations, such as Boquete or Coiba, you are better off looking for operators closer to
the destination; they are listed in the relevant chapters.
Birdwatching
Panama offers first-class birdwatching , Boasting over 960 species of bird, including 55 vari-
eties of hummingbirds and spectacular show birds such as the emerald and ruby resplendent
quetzal (easy to see in the Chiriquí Highlands), the country also contains the world's largest
concentration of harpy eagles (most likely to be spotted in the Darién or in Amistad). Though
Panama acts as a magnet for serious twitchers laden with tripods, checklists and hefty avian
tomes (see Wildlife ) , it might persuade even those who have viewed birdwatching as a dull
pastime, involving hours of trying to identify one indistinguishable brown bird from another,
to think again. It's hard not to be impressed by the dazzling flashes of parrots and macaws in
flight or the ludicrous painted bills of toucans swooping across the treetops.
Since many of these glamorous birds spend much of their time tantalizingly high up in the
canopy, it is worth splashing out on at least a small pair of binoculars, which will significantly
enhance your birdwatching experience. So too will engaging a guide . Alongside the big-
name tour operators in the capital there are small-scale specialists, such as Birding Panama (
birdingpanama.com ) and Birding in Panama ( birdinginpanama.com ), as well as numer-
ous local residents scattered across the country, whose contact details are given in the relev-
ant chapters. Daily rates for a professional bilingual naturalist guide contracted in the capital
can range from $80-120, partly depending on how far you travel, but if you want something
less expensive or just want someone to be able to point out some of the more obvious species,
engaging someone locally from one of the villages for a few hours can cost as little as $15. A
good way to start off is to attend one of the regular birdwatching-for-beginners walks ($5) in
the Parque Natural Metropolitano in Panama City; organized by the Panama Audubon Soci-
ety and advertised on its website (

panamaaudubon.org ), they are open to all.

Hiking
Panama also affords a myriad of hiking opportunities. Vast wilderness areas such as La
Amistad and the Darién are ideal for adventurous multi-day hikes across the isthmus, often
involving bivouacking, staying in indigenous villages, fording rivers and wading through
metres of mud. Aside from the Panama City operators, guides can be engaged locally in
places such as Santa Fé, Boquete and Cerro Punta, at far less cost, though you'll need some
Spanish. If you fancy a more modest outing, parks in the canal basin offer a range of trails
from a gentle circular route to a reasonably strenuous rainforest tramp, following in the foot-
steps of the conquistadors. Note you'll need warm clothes for the chilly nights in the peaks
of western Panama.