The Panama Canal Rainforest
The Panama Canal rainforests are the most accessible pristine rainforests in the world. Just minutes from Panama City in the former American Canal Zone, now Soberania National Park, they are home to exotic nature and outstanding ecotourism attractions.
A veritable treasure of nature, these 50,000 acres of pristine rainforest host 105 species of mammals, 525 species of birds and 124 species of reptiles and amphibians.
Recently, a well traveled travel writer told us that she had traveled to the deepest part of the Amazon, but not seen nearly as much nature in the Amazon as she saw in the Panama Canal Rainforest, just 30 minutes from the modern metropolis of Panama City.
A travel article in Los Angeles Times reports that the writer saw 5 species of monkeys in a trip to Monkey Island in Gatun Lake, part of the Panama Canal water complex (not usual).
Where To Eat
If you can't stay overnight, a perfect day trip from Panama City is to have lunch at Los Lagartos Restaurant alongside Chagres River at the Gamboa.
Rainforest Resort
As you dine, you'll see huge ships floating by in the Panama Canal. If you ask the waiters, they'll throw bread in the river below and you'll be treated to a tropical wildlife food fight (cocodriles, fish, turtles and colorful water birds all vying for the bread pieces). We won't tell you who always wins the fight.
What To Do
Birding
Two of the world's best birding locations: Pipeline Road near Panama City and Achiote Road near Colon.
Fishing
Gatun Lake created as part of the Panama Canal and once the world's largest man-made lake offers excellent lake fishing (it is normal to catch several dozen fish).
Kayaking and Rafting Day Tours
Aventuras Panama offers an exciting one day Class II rafting trip on the Chagres River . and two kayaking day tours in the Panama Canal Rainforest. On one you paddle the Chagres River through lush rainforest and the other from Gatun Lake to the historic Fort San Lorenzo on the Atlantic Coast. See their info on the Tour Operators sidebar.
Barro Colorado Island
A lush jungle island which is a world renowned living laboratory run by the Smithsonian Institute for Tropical Research in Gatun Lake, part of the Panama Canal waterway. A tour will include a boat ride in the Panama Canal and a rainforest hike with a naturalist. Make your reservations with a tour operator well in advance as tourists are limited to protect the islands' numerous scientific research projects.
Monkey Island Tour
A boat tour in the Panama Canal to the islands in the Canal where at least four types of monkeys are usually observed - this trip is a sure family hit.
Summit Golf Club
Just twenty minutes from downtown Panama City, Summit Golf Club offers extraordinary tropical scenery, a championship course designed by Jeffrey Myers with 18 holes, par 72, 6626 yards and sand based Bermuda-Tidway grass. The course has the only computerized GPS system in Central America, 100 golf carts, outstanding practice facilities and a beautiful club house.
Summit Botanical Gardens and Zoo
A main attraction and worth the visit by itself, is the Harpy Eagle compound where you can see a Harpy Eagle, the world's largest predator bird.
Founded by the Americans in 1923, these gardens are home to over 15,000 tropical plants and a zoo of animals and birds native to the tropics.
A main attraction and worth the visit by itself, is the Harpy Eagle compound where you can see a Harpy Eagle, the world's largest predator bird. This magnificent bird, which lives only in Panama and is close to extinction stands about three feet tall. Fortunately, a local branch of the Peregrine Foundation is breding the bird and hopes to save it.