Lonely Planet Panama , livre ebook

Panama

Contents

PLAN YOUR TRIP

Welcome to Panama
Panama’s Top 15
Need to Know
First Time Panama
What’s New
If You Like
Month by Month
Itineraries
Panama Outdoors
Regions at a Glance

ON THE ROAD

PANAMA CITY
History
Sights
Activities & Courses
Tours
Festivals & Events
Sleeping
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Entertainment
Shopping
PANAMÁ PROVINCE
Around Panama City
Panama Canal
Canal Zone
Pacific Islands
Isla Taboga
Archipiélago de las Perlas
Pacific Coast
La Chorrera
Parque Nacional Altos de Campana
Punta Chame
Pacific Coast Beaches
COCLÉ PROVINCE
El Valle
Santa Clara
Farallón & Playa Blanca
Antón
Penonomé
La Pintada
Reserva Privada Távida
Parque Nacional Omar Torrijos
Natá
Aguadulce
PENÍNSULA DE AZUERO
Chitré
Around Chitré
Interior Azuero
La Villa de Los Santos
Road to Las Tablas
Guararé
La Enea
Las Tablas
Pedasí
Refugio de Vida Silvestre Isla Iguana
Azuero Coastline
VERAGUAS PROVINCE
Santiago
San Francisco
Santa Fé
Santa Catalina
Parque Nacional Coiba
Isla Cébaco
The Sunset Coast
CHIRIQUÍ PROVINCE
Lowlands
David
Playa Barqueta
Golfo de Chiriquí
Playa Las Lajas
David to Boquete
Highlands
Boquete
Parque Nacional Volcán Barú
Volcán
Santa Clara
Bambito
Cerro Punta
Guadalupe
Parque Internacional La Amistad (Las Nubes)
The Fortuna Road
BOCAS DEL TORO PROVINCE
Archipiélago de Bocas del Toro
Isla Colón
Isla Carenero
Isla Solarte
Isla San Cristóbal & Around
Isla Bastimentos
Mainland
Almirante
Changuinola
Humedal de San San Pond Sak
Parque Internacional La Amistad (Wekso)
Las Delicias
Bosque Protector de Palo Seco
COLÓN PROVINCE
Colón
Around Colón
Área Protegida San Lorenzo
Portobelo
Puerto Lindo
Isla Grande
COMARCA DE GUNA YALA
History
Culture
Lifestyle
Economy
Gardi (Cartí) Islands & Around
Cayos Limones & Chicheme
Río Sidra (Mamartupu & Urgandi) & Western Islands
Cayos Los Grullos, Holandeses & Ordupuquip
Aggwanusadub (Corazón de Jesús), Yandup (Narganá) & Central Islands
Uggubseni (Playón Chico) & Eastern Islands
Assudub (Achutupu) & Uaguinega
The Road to Gardi (Cartí)
DARIÉN PROVINCE
History
Culture
The Road to Yaviza
Lago Bayano
Ipetí & Around
Puerto Lara
Metetí
Yaviza
Parque Nacional Darién
El Real
Pijibasal
Rancho Frío
Interior Darién
La Palma
Reserva Natural Punta Patiño
Mogué
Río Sambú
Sambú
Pacific Coast
Jaqué & Around
Playa Muerto

UNDERSTAND

Understand Panama
Panama Today
History
The Panamanian Way of Life
Music
Arts
Land & Wildlife

SURVIVAL GUIDE

Directory A–Z
Accessible Travel
Accommodations
Activities
Children
Climate
Electricity
Embassies & Consulates
Food
Health
Insurance
Internet Access
Legal Matters
LGBTIQ+ Travelers
Maps
Money
Opening Hours
Photography
Post
Public Holidays
Safe Travel
Telephone
Time
Toilets
Tourist Information
Visas
Volunteering
Women Travelers
Work
Transportation
Getting There & Away
Getting Around
Language
Behind the Scenes
Our Writers
Welcome to Panama

From clear turquoise seas to the coffee farms and cloud forests of Chiriquí, Panama can be as chilled out or as thrilling as you wish.

Endless Summer
With a plethora of deserted islands, chilled Caribbean vibes on one side and monster Pacific swells on the other, Panama sits poised to deliver the best of beach life. And a whole other world begins at the water’s edge. Seize it by scuba diving with whale sharks in the Pacific, snorkeling the rainbow reefs of Bocas del Toro or setting sail in the indigenous territory of Guna Yala, where virgin isles sport nary a footprint. Meanwhile surfers will be psyched to have world-class breaks all to themselves. Hello, paradise.

Cosmopolitan Panama
The dazzling blue coastline and shimmering skyscrapers say Miami, though many joke that you hear more English spoken in Panama. Panama City is culturally diverse and driven, rough-edged yet sophisticated. And there’s much that’s new or improved. Central America’s first subway is operating, the historic Casco district has been beautifully restored and a massive canal expansion completed. Take in the city’s funky particulars. Pedal the coastal green space, explore the Casco or attend an avant-garde performance and you will realize this tropical capital isn’t only about salsa: that’s just the backbeat.

The Great Outdoors
In Panama, nature is all about discovery. Explore the ruins of Spanish forts on the Caribbean coast or boat deep into indigenous territories in a dugout canoe. Wildlife is incidental: a resplendent quetzal on the highland trail, an unruly troupe of screeching howler monkeys outside your cabin or a breaching whale that turns your ferry ride into an adrenaline-filled event. Adventure tourism means zipping through rainforest canopies, swimming alongside sea turtles or trekking to sublime cloud-forest vistas. One small tropical country with two long coasts makes for a pretty big playground.

Lost-World Adventure
You don’t have to make it all the way to the Darién to get off the beaten path – though if you do, you’ve hit one of the most biodiverse spots on the planet. Go where the wild things are. Soak in the spray of towering waterfalls near highland Santa Fé. Visit one of Panama’s seven indigenous groups through community tourism. Live out your castaway fantasies in the Guna Yala or idle on a wilderness beach in Península de Azuero. Howl back at the creatures sharing the canopy. Panama is as wild as you want it to be.

El Valle | JAN SCHNECKENHAUS / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Why I Love Panama
By Carolyn McCarthy, Writer
In a world where wilderness and native cultures are disappearing, Panama – against all odds – continues with its essence intact. Trekking through rainforests, watching Congo drumming and paddling between pristine tropical islands offer pure wonder. The wildlife viewing is astounding – both in expected places, like the waters of Isla de Coiba, and in patches of preserved forest just outside the capital. For me Panama is a confluence – an explosion of nature, cultures and beliefs in that messy, musical arrangement that’s everyday life in Latin America. All that energy feeds you, and you see the world in new ways.
For more, see Our Writers
Panama’s Top 15
Panama City
Panama City is high-octane Latin America: think ceviche (citrus-cured seafood), casinos and a stacked skyline. For this sparkling city of nearly a million, transformation is afoot: coastal green space, a biodiversity museum, colonial restoration in Casco Viejo and Central America’s first subway system. Sure, the traffic resembles a boa constrictor digesting one megalithic meal, but its appeal persists. People are real here and nature is never very far away. Beauty lives in the skewed rhythms, incongruous visions and fiery sunsets.

MAREK POPLAWSKI / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is one of the world’s greatest shortcuts, cutting right through the continental divide, linking the Atlantic and the Pacific. And it’s worth marveling at. Just as stunning as the hulking steel container ships passing through the locks are the legions of creatures watching from the jungle fringes. Two visitor centers offer viewing platforms and museums that lay bare the construction and its expansion. There are also worthwhile boat and kayak trips on the waterway, or you can book a partial transit and squeeze through the locks yourself.

DANNY LEHMAN / GETTY IMAGES ©

Top Experiences
Casco Viejo
Casco Viejo is Panama City’s most historical living neighborhood, full of crumbling convents and cobblestones. The colonial architecture may hark back to Havana, but this is not a spot where time stands still. It’s as much about today’s urban mix as the eclectic, easygoing vibe. The Cinta Costera, a recently completed green space, takes walkers and bikers from downtown past Casco Viejo. On sticky evenings artists’ booths line the promenade, couples dine under parasols and live music fills the plazas.

SHAHAIRA / GETTY IMAGES ©

Top Experiences
Water Sports
Water sports in Panama range from diving with a rare whale shark, ocean kayaking around uninhabited islands or getting soaked while rafting in the highlands. Clear and cool, the Pacific is the best place to spot a wide variety of marine mammals, including whales, in spots such as Parque Nacional Coiba and the Golfo de Chiriquí, while the Caribbean is known for its colorful corals and starfish around Bocas del Toro and the powdery white-sand beaches of the Archipiélago de San Blas.

DAMSEA / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
Parque Nacional Coiba
Parque Nacional Coiba , often compared to the Galápagos, is a veritable lost world of pristine ecosystems and unique fauna. Spy flocks of scarlet macaws, enormous schools of fish, migrating humpback whales with calves, and manta rays scuffing the ocean floor. Scuba divers might glimpse a hammerhead or whale shark. Most importantly, it’s still wild, with few visitors and little infrastructure. Not long ago an infamous prison operated on the main island, but now everyone comes here by choice.

HALFOFMOON / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
Festivals
Festivals are a window into the country’s wilder side. Panama’s many fetes also reveal the breadth of cultures packed into this small nation. From Caribbean Congo celebrations in Portobelo to the vibrant folkloric traditions of the Península de Azuero, the three-day Guna stomp that is Nogapope or Panama City’s open-air jazz festival, all of Panama loves a good rum-soaked time. When it’s all over, a replenishing bowl of ‘Get Up Lazarus’ (a potent seafood soup) at Mercado de Mariscos in the capital is in order.

Congo celebrations in Portobelo | SL-PHOTOGRAPHY / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
Boquete
Boquete i