Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Prized for its lush setting and remoteness, Sierra Llorona Panama Lodge (
6574-0083; www.sierrallorona.com ; d US$55-88; ) is a 200-hectare rainforest reserve
with 213 species of tropical bird. With extensive gardens and excellent trails with obser-
vation platforms, it is easy to cover the grounds. Trail difficulty ranges from easy-peasy
to backbreaking. The lodge caters best to fans of the atmospheric natural setting (no casi-
nos here!).
Rooms offer rustic styling without air-conditioners or TVs, though mountain breezes
keep it cool and there's no need for TV with the rainforest on your doorstep.
After you have explored the reserve, you can organize private tours to some of the
country's top bird-watching hot spots, such as nearby Parque Nacional Soberanía and
Parque Nacional San Lorenzo. A day pass (US$20) allows visitors to hike the trails with
a local guide and enjoy a three-course lunch with good vegetarian options.
Although it's possible drive yourself in a 4WD, you should probably arrange for a
pickup with the company recommended on the website, since the road into Sierra
Llorona can be hairy, particularly during rainy season. Those driving from Panama City
can follow the Transisthmian Hwy toward Colón, and take the Santa Rita Arriba turnoff,
just a few kilometers before the Sabanitas turnoff. Once on this road, follow signs for the
lodge, which is approximately 4.5km from the Transisthmian Hwy.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Parque Nacional San Lorenzo
Centered on the ruins of the crumbling Spanish colonial fortress of Fuerte San Lorenzo,
the 9.6-sq-km park ( www.sanlorenzo.org.pa ) also includes the former US military base of
Fuerte Sherman, as well as 12 different kinds of ecosystem including mangroves, marsh-
lands, semideciduous forests and humid rainforests. Since the departure of the US milit-
ary in 1999, native fauna has slowly recolonized the area, though the future of the San
Lorenzo protected area remains uncertain.
As part of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, San Lorenzo protects and fosters
species' migration between the continents, a fact touted by conservation biologists and
ecotour operators alike. However, locals mostly see the area as unoccupied land, and
everyone from poachers and loggers to slash-and-burn farmers is encroaching on the re-
serve.
Fortunately, conservation and tourism may win out in the end, due in part to the
massive quantities of unexploded ordnance (UXOs) left in the area by the US military.
For decades the jungles surrounding Fuerte Sherman were used for target practice and
 
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