Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Proudly positioned in the crook of land overlooking the Pacific, the soaring skyline of
Panama City surveys the ocean before it, much as Vasco Nuñez de Balboa did when
he chanced upon the body of water after a bloody journey south across the isthmus al-
most five hundred years ago. From its inception, the city has been situated on one of the
world's great crossroads, and it has thrived on trade, attracting migrants from all over
the world to a cosmopolitan melting pot bubbling with energy and ambition. Panama
has long been considered a bridge between two continents and nowhere is this divided
identity more apparent than in the capital, where glitzy skyscrapers, laser-lit nightclubs
and chic restaurants more reminiscent of Miami than Latin America are juxtaposed
with colonial churches, clamouring street vendors and chaotic traffic. Though it is the
undisputed political, economic and social centre of Panama and home to 1.3 million -
just over a third of the country's population - the city has very little in common with
the rest of the country, which is often vaguely referred to as “el interior”.
On the southwest end of the bay stands the old city centre of
Casco Viejo
, a jumble of im-
maculately restored colonial buildings, crumbling ruins and run-down housing on a rocky
promontory, while a few kilometres to the northeast rise the shimmering skyscrapers of
El
Cangrejo
and
Marbella
, the modern banking and commercial district, and the penthouse
apartments of
Punta Paitilla
and
Punta Pacífica
. Further east, amid sprawling suburbs
whose tentacles extend 30km along the coast, stand the ruins of
Panamá Viejo
, the first
European city to be founded on the Pacific coast of the Americas, while west of the city
centre the former US Canal Zone town of
Balboa
, with its clipped lawns and restrained util-
itarian architecture, retains a distinctly North American character despite having been turned
over to full Panamanian control in 1999. In the background, the Panamanian flag proudly
flies on the summit of
Cerro Ancón
, a surprising oasis of greenery on what was once a major
US military base.
For the vast majority of visitors to Panama, the capital provides their first point of contact.
Many spend their entire stay here, since it makes a good base from which to explore many
of the country's attractions while enjoying the material comforts of sophisticated city living
- the canal, a handful of national parks and the Caribbean coast as far as Portobelo can all
be visited on
day-trips
. Other visitors, keen to leave behind the frenzied construction and
thronging streets and escape into the country's outstanding wilderness areas, still linger a
couple of days to savour the colonial architecture of Casco Viejo and the vitality of the mod-
ern city, including its many bars and restaurants.
While it is easy to tire of Panama City's irrepressible energy, oppressive heat and relentless
traffic, it's as simple to escape to nearby places of real tranquillity: the
Amador Causeway
,
a breezy breakwater offering fabulous views of the canal and the city skyline;
Isla Taboga
,
the sleepy “Island of Flowers” an hour's boat ride off the coast; or the
Parque Natural Met-
ropolitano
, the only natural tropical rainforest within the limits of a Latin American capital.
