Hiking in Panama
More than 25 percent of Panama is protected by national parks and nature reserves that are home to almost 1,000 species of birds, 220 species of mammals, 240 species of reptiles, and more than 10,000 species of vascular plants. This is a wilderness paradise. You can find some of the world’s rarest birds and mammals within Panama’s forests, and you’ll spot many of these animals along the county’s many hiking trails.
Panama’s sophisticated network of trails range from day-long hikes along Las Cruces Trail, Pipeline Road in Soberania National Park, La Cruz Trail in Campana National Park, or Los Quetzales Trail in Barú National Park, to more demanding treks that reach the peak of Baru volcano and other mountain tops.
The Barú volcano hike, for example, takes you around Panama’s highest point and through La Amistad World Biosphere Reserve, which protects biologically rich and diverse highland ecosystems. The cloud forests of the Chiriqui Highlands, formed when the moisture-filled warm air from the ocean meets the mountain range in a mass of clouds, are home to the elusive resplendent quetzal and the three-wattle bellbird among others. These cool habitats provide 100% humidity for entire ecosystems, and the lush forests teem with orchids, bromeliads, and tropical flora.
Longer trips take you from ocean to ocean along the historic Las Cruces Trail in Chagres, through Portobelo National Park, and into the depths of the Darien National Park. A World Heritage Site, Darien protects more than 1.2 million acres of pristine habitats. It contains everything from sandy beaches to rocky coasts to mangroves and swamps. The Darien is home to the harpy eagle, jaguars, tapirs, and packs of wild white-lipped peccaries.
Even Panama City offers a unique outdoor experience. Its Metropolitan Nature Park offers trails that are home to toucans, coatis, morpho butterflies, and endemic rufous-naped tamarins. Within the Panama Canal watershed is the Soberania National Park where howler monkeys, parrots, three-toed sloths, and blue cotingas live. Pipeline Road is one of several famous trails in the park that has received recognition for its birdwatching records: as many as 400 species of birds have been observed in one day, and you are certain to see thrush-tanagers and lance-tailed manikins.
