Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
not involve filling the beach and shore. Instead, the road would be elevated on 177
pilings some 8m above the sea and 200m offshore.
Unesco's World Heritage Committee has consistently recommended that the
government select the tunnel alternative and perform a thorough analysis of al-
ternatives, along with their cultural, environmental and social impacts. The govern-
ment maintains it has complied with Unesco's World Heritage Committee re-
quests.
However, civil groups opposed to the project assert that authorities have failed
to meet Panama's international obligations. The project is slated to finish by June
2014. As a result, the World Heritage Committee could potentially place the Casco
Viejo on its List of World Heritage in Danger, one step before delisting the site.
Daniel Suman is a professor of environmental and coastal law at the University of
Miami.
TOP OF CHAPTER
1
Parque Natural Metropolitano
Up on a hill to the north of downtown, this 265-hectare
national park
( info 232-5516;
www.parquemetropolitano.org
;
Av Juan Pablo II; admission US$1; 8am-5pm Mon-Fri, to 1pm Sat)
protects vast expanses of tropical semideciduous forest within the city limits. It serves as
an incredible wilderness escape from the trappings of the capital. Two main walking
trails, the
Nature Trail
and the
Tití Monkey Trail
, join to form one long loop with a
150m-high
mirador
(lookout) offering panoramic views of Panama City, the bay and the
canal, all the way to the Miraflores Locks.
Mammals in the park include tití monkeys, anteaters, sloths and white-tailed deer,
while reptiles include iguanas, turtles and tortoises. More than 250 known bird species
have been spotted here. Fish and shrimp inhabit the Río Curundú along the eastern side
of the park.
The park was the site of an important battle during the US invasion to oust Noriega.
Also of historical significance, concrete structures just past the park entrance were used
during WWII as a testing and assembly plant for aircraft engines.
The park is bordered on the west and north sides by Camino de la Amistad and to the
south and east by Corredor Norte; Av Juan Pablo II runs right through the park.
Pick up a pamphlet for a self-guided tour in Spanish and English at the
visitors center
(
232-5516; admission US$1;
8am-5pm Mon-Fri, to 1pm Sat)
, 40m north of the park en-
trance.
