1. Panama Canal/Miraflores Locks
The Panama Canal is considered one of the world’s greatest engineering marvels. The canal can be crossed in two ways: partially or completely. It takes four to eight hours to cross the border. The Miraflores Locks Museum is a popular stop for visitors who want to learn more about the canal. Visitors may see transiting vessels in the canal below from the museum’s café on the top level.
2. Casco Viejo
Casco Viejo was constructed on a peninsula a few kilometers away from Panama Viejo as a walled city to safeguard its residents from potential pirate invasions. Casco Viejo was the center of the city at the turn of the twentieth century, but as Panama City grew, the city’s aristocracy abandoned it, and the area progressively degraded. However, following an intensive reclamation project in recent years, this colonial quarter has regained some of its former beauty and has become one of Panama City’s most popular tourist destinations.
3. Panama Viejo
The remnants of the earliest Spanish settlement on the Americas’ Pacific coast may be seen in Panama Viejo. The city was founded on August 15, 1519, by Pedro Arias de Avila, and was the launching point for the expeditions that defeated the Inca Empire in Peru. The majority of the gold and silver taken from the Incas traveled through this city. In 1671, the pirate Henry Morgan stormed the city with 1,400 men marching over the forest from the Caribbean shore, and today only the shards of Morgan’s legacy can be seen.
4. Coiba National Park
Along its whole coastal perimeter, the Coiba National Park includes activities like beaches, diving, and fishing. Beaches like Playa Damas and Playa Blanca on Isla Coiba, as well as those on the Granito de Oro, Ranchera, Uvas, Contreras, and other islands, are known for their excellent sands and clear water. You may schedule a day of scuba diving or just fishing from any island inside the park, an activity that is widely renowned in the Coiba area owing to the species that can be found there, such as the merlin. For nature enthusiasts, the islands include diverse flora and fauna, including turtle nesting spots on the beaches.
5. Sendero Los Quetzales
Between Cerro Punta and Boquete, one of Panama’s most picturesque routes crisscrosses Rio Caldera. You may go in either way, but hiking west to the east provides more downhill: Cerro Punta is over 1000 meters higher than Boquete. The 8-kilometer journey takes four to six hours to complete. It takes another couple of hours to go to and from the trailhead on either side (about 23km in total). It is suggested that you use a guide.
