Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Knowledge of local history, animals and plants
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Knowledge of English (or another language)
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First-aid kit and skills
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Handheld radio and/or cell phone for areas with coverage
Fellow travelers can be excellent guide references, but it is important to meet your
guide - particularly if you will be traveling solo. If contracting your guide in the Dar-
ién, converse with locals, find someone you trust and ask them for references.
Find out ahead of time if gas, transportation, food and fees are included. Don't
assume that a local guide is experienced - some have sold trips despite never hav-
ing set foot in the national park. ANAM ( 299-4495) is a good point of reference.
Getting There & Away
The Interamericana terminates 266km from Panama City in the frontier town of Yaviza -
the vast wilderness region of the Darién lies beyond. The highway starts again 150km
further on in Colombia. This break between Central and South America is known as the
Darién Gap - literally the end of the road.
There are eight buses daily from Panama City to Yaviza between 3:30am and 7am
(US$16, 4.5 hours). Be sure to tell the bus driver your destination.
to Jaqué, El Real Sambú and Puerto Obaldia. There is also a ferry from Panama City to
La Palma.
Getting Around
In the vast jungles of the Darién Province, rivers are often the only means of travel, with
piraguas
providing the transport. In La Palma you can hire a motorized boat for US$175
to US$200 per day, which can take you to the Río Mogué or the Río Sambú. From either
of these rivers you'll have to negotiate with indigenous villagers (in Mogué or La
Chunga) to take you further upriver in
piraguas
. A boat can be hired from Puerto
Quimba to La Palma.
THE ROAD TO YAVIZA
The Interamericana runs from Panamá Province along the spine of the Darién Province,
with Yaviza the end of the road (for now). Police checkpoints are frequent on this road,
