26 Best Sights in The Canal and Central Panama, Panama

El Valle's most user-friendly forest experience is available at the small, private Refugio Ecológico del Chorro Macho, west of Cerro Gaital. The reserve has well-kept trails, walking sticks, and the option of hiring a guide at the gate. It belongs to Raúl Arias, who also owns the adjacent Canopy Lodge, and it contains one of El Valle's major landmarks, El Chorro Macho, a 115-foot cascade surrounded by lush foliage. You're not allowed to swim beneath the waterfall, but there is a lovely swimming pool fed by river water to the left upon entering the reserve, so bring your bathing suit and a towel. Enter the gate to the left of the main entrance to reach the pool. The refuge has a tour called Canopy Adventure, which can take you flying through the treetops and over the waterfall on zip lines strung between platforms high in trees. Most visitors are happy simply to explore the trails that loop through the lush forest past the waterfall and over a small suspension bridge that spans a rocky stream.

The most interesting spot for viewing the Panama Canal is the visitor center at the Miraflores Locks.North of Miraflores the road to Gamboa heads inland but still passes a couple of spots with canal vistas, namely the Pedro Miguel Locks and the one-way bridge over the Chagres River. The bridge (and Gamboa in general) offers front-row views of the big ships as they pass though the canal. The Panama Canal Railway train to Colón continues north from Gamboa past other vantage points, which is much of that trip's draw. Two other spots with impressive views are the monument erected by the country's Chinese community on the Bridge of the Americas' western side, and the Esclusas de Gatún (Gatún Locks), 10 km (6 miles) south of Colón. Near Colón, the Panama Canal Expansion Visitor Center offers views of construction on the expanded canal (as long as that work continues) and will likely remain open after the new section is finished. But nothing matches the experience of getting out onto the water, which can be done on a canal transit tour or on a nature tour or fishing trip on Gatún Lake.

Orchid enthusiasts will want to check out this small botanical garden run by a local organization dedicated to orchids. They have more than 100 native species, as well as ornamental and medicinal plants. The best time to visit is January to May, when most of the orchids are in bloom.

El Nispero (named after a native fruit tree) is a private zoo and plant nursery hidden at the end of a rough dirt road. It covers nearly seven acres at the foot of Cerro Gaital, and its forested grounds are attractive, but most of the animals are in small cages. This is one of the only places you can see the extremely rare golden toad, which has been wiped out in the wild by a fungal disease. Those little yellow-and-black anurans—often mistakenly called frogs—are on display at the El Valle Amphibian Research Center, funded by several U.S. zoos. Biologists at the center are studying the fungus that is killing the species (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis), while facilitating the toad's reproduction in a fungus-free environment. The zoo has many other Panamanian species that you are unlikely to see in the wild, such as jaguars, tapirs, collared peccaries (wild pigs), white-faced capuchin monkeys, and various macaw species. Exotic species such as Asian golden pheasants and white peacocks run the grounds. Most of the animals at El Nispero are former pets that were donated, or confiscated from their owners by government authorities. The tapirs, for example, belonged to former dictator Manuel Noriega.

Perched on a cliff overlooking the mouth of the Chagres River are the ruins of the ancient Spanish Fuerte San Lorenzo, destroyed by pirate Henry Morgan in 1671 and rebuilt shortly after, then bombarded a century later. The Spaniards built Fort San Lorenzo in 1595 in an effort to protect the South American gold they were shipping down the Chagres River, which was first carried along the Camino de Cruces from Panamá Viejo. The gold was then shipped up the coast to the fortified city of Portobelo, where it was stored until the Spanish armada arrived to carry it to Spain. The fortress's commanding position and abundant cannons weren't enough of a deterrent for Morgan, whose men managed to shoot flaming arrows into the fort, causing a fire that set off stored gunpowder and forced the Spanish troops to surrender. Morgan then led his men up the river and across the isthmus to sack Panamá Viejo.

In the 1980s UNESCO restored the fort to its current condition, which is pretty sparse—it hardly compares to the extensive colonial ruins of Portobelo. Nevertheless, the setting is gorgeous, and the view from that promontory of the blue-green Caribbean, the coast, and the vast jungle behind it is breathtaking. Be careful walking around the edge outside the fort; there are some treacherous precipices, and guardrails are almost nonexistent. One visitor did have a fatal fall several years ago.

Ell Valle's town center is basically the area west of the market, where you will find the library and the town church, Iglesia de San José, which is more a reference point than a sight to see.

Isla Mogo Mogo, 6 km (4 miles) south of Contadora, on the other side of Isla Chapera, has a sugar-sand beach in a deep cove where snorkelers may find sea stars. Tiny Isla Boyarena, just to the south, has a pale sandbar that becomes a beach at low tide.

Isla Pacheca, 5 km (3 miles) north of Contadora, has a lovely white-sand beach and a brown pelican rookery where about 8,000 birds nest, whereas the nearby islets of Pachequilla and Bartolomé have good scuba-diving and snorkeling spots.

Gatún Lake was created when the U.S. government dammed the Chagres River, between 1907 and 1910, so that boats could cross the isthmus at 85 feet above sea level. By creating the lake, the United States saved decades of digging that a sea-level canal would have required. It took several years for the rain to fill the convoluted valleys, turning hilltops into islands and killing much forest (some trunks still tower over the water nearly a century later). When it was completed, Gatún Lake was the largest man-made lake in the world. The canal route winds through its northern half, past several forest-covered islands (the largest is Barro Colorado, one of the world's first biological reserves). To the north of Barro Colorado are the Islas Brujas and Islas Tigres, which together hold a primate refuge—visitors aren't allowed. The lake itself is home to crocodiles—forgo swimming here—manatees, and peacock bass, a species introduced from South America and popular with fishermen. Fishing charters for bass, snook, and tarpon are out of Gamboa Rainforest Resort.

One traditional tourist attraction worth checking out is the Mercado, an open–air bazaar under a high red roof on the left side of Avenida Principal, two blocks before the church. The market is most interesting on weekends, especially Sunday morning, when vendors and shoppers arrive from far and wide. Locals go to the market to buy fresh fruit, vegetables, baked goods, and plants. Handicrafts sold here include the sombrero pintao (a traditional straw hat), handmade jewelry, soapstone sculptures, and knickknacks such as the various renditions of El Valle's emblematic golden toad. Even if you don't want to buy anything, it's a colorful, festive affair. Some Panama City tour operators offer a day trip—a long day trip—to the market on Sunday.

El Valle's northern edge is protected within the 827-acre (335-hectare) nature reserve Monumento Natural Cerro Gaital, which covers the hills of Cerro Gaital, Cerro Pajita, and Cerro Caracoral. Cerro Gaital is a steep, forest-draped hill that towers over the valley's northern edge, rising to a summit of more than 3,500 feet above sea level. The lush wilderness that covers it is home to more than 300 bird species, including such spectacular creatures as the red-legged honeycreeper, bay-headed tanager, and blue-crowned motmot. It also protects the habitat of the rare golden toad (Atelopus zeteki). The bird-watching is best along the edges of that protected area, since its lush foliage provides too many hiding places for those feathered creatures, and the terrain is dangerously steep. The areas around El Nispero, Los Mandarinos hotel, and the old Hotel Campestre are also excellent for bird-watching. There is a trail into the forest by the ranger post on the right, above the Refugio Ecológico Chorro Macho, approximately 10 km (6 miles) from the church. It requires good shoes and decent physical condition and is best done with a guide.

The one-hour trip on the Panama Canal Railway from Corozal, just north of Albrook, to the Caribbean city of Colón, offers an interesting perspective of the rain forests of Soberanía National Park and the wetlands along Gatún Lake. The railway primarily moves freight, but it has a commuter service on weekdays that departs from Panama City at 7:15 am (returning from Colón at 5:15 pm), and costs $25 each way. Tourists ride in one of six air-conditioned cars with curved windows on the roof that let you see the foliage overhead. The best views are from the left side of the train, and though the train moves too fast to see much wildlife, you may spot toucans, herons, and black snail kites flying over the lake. The downside: the trip passes a garbage dump and industrial zone near the end, and leaves you just outside the slums of Colón at 8:15 am, which is why you may want to take the trip as part of a tour that picks you up in Colón and takes you to either San Lorenzo or Portobelo. It is possible to do the trip on your own, in which case you should board one of the shuttle vans that await the train in Colón and have them take you to the Colón 2000 (pronounced coh-loan dose-mill) cruise-ship port, where you can pick up a rental car and drive to Portobelo, or hire a taxi for the day ($80–$100). The trains leave promptly, and it is complicated to pre-purchase tickets, so get to the station by 6:45 am to buy your tickets.

Just beyond Gamboa, adjacent to the Parque Nacional Soberanía and near the start of Pipeline Road, lies the Panama Rainforest Discovery Center, operated by the local Eugene Eisenmann Avian Wildlife Foundation. Its centerpiece is a 32-meter (105-ft) steel observation tower giving ample opportunity for observation of life in the rain-forest canopy. Three other decks are positioned at about each of the quarter-way marks. A solar-powered visitors' center contains exhibits about avian life in the Panamanian rain forest. Leading from the visitors' center is 1.1 km (0.7 miles) of hiking trails. They open at 6 am, which is the best tme to see birds. Capacity is limited to 25 visitors at a time during the peak viewing hours, before 10 am, and to 50 people for the rest of the day, so you should make reservations at least a day ahead from December to April.

The wilderness just behind the Fuerte San Lorenzo is part of Parque Nacional San Lorenzo, a 23,843-acre (9,653-hectare) protected area that includes rain forest, wetlands, rivers, and coastline. For decades this was the U.S. Army's jungle training area, where tens of thousands of troops trained for warfare in the tropics. The army used parts of the park as a bombing range, and there may still be unexploded ordnance in its interior, though far from the roads and fortress. Today the park is the haunt of bird-watchers, who hope to focus their binoculars on some of the more than 400 bird species. Mammalian residents include spider monkey, armadillo, tamarin, and coatimundi. The lush forest here gets nearly twice as much rain as Panama City, and it doesn't lose as much of its foliage during the dry season. Most of that rain falls at night, so mornings are often sunny, even during the rainy season.

The most famous bird-watching area in Parque Nacional San Lorenzo is Achiote Road (Camino a Achiote), which is about 25 km (15 miles) south of the fort. To reach it, turn left after crossing the locks and drive 15 km (9 miles) south. Members of the Panama Audubon Society once counted 340 bird species in one day on Achiote Road during their Christmas bird count. The community of Achiote, about 4 km (2½ miles) northwest of the park on Achiote Road, has trained birding guides and a visitor center, the Centro del Tucan, with rustic shared, dormitory-style accommodations for $12 a night, as well as private cabins at prices that vary according to the season .

Trails into the Parque Nacional Soberanía wilderness can be reached by public bus, taxi, or by driving the mere 25 km (15 miles) from downtown Panama City, though you are best off visiting the park on a guided tour. Those trails wind past the trunks and buttress roots of massive kapok and strangler fig trees and the twisted stalks of lianas dangling from their high branches. Though visitors can expect to see only a small sampling of its wildlife, the park is home to more than 500 bird species and more than 100 different mammals, including such endangered species as the elusive jaguar and the ocelot.

If you hike some of the park's trails, you run a good chance of seeing white-faced capuchin monkeys, tamandua anteaters, raccoon-like coatimundi, or the large rodents called agouti. You may also see iridescent blue morpho butterflies, green iguanas, leafcutter ants, and other interesting critters. On any given morning here you might see dozens of spectacular birds, such as red-lored parrots, collared aracaris, violaceous trogons, and purple-throated fruit crows. From November to April the native bird population is augmented by the dozens of migrant species that winter in the park, among them the scarlet tanager, Kentucky warbler, and Louisiana water thrush. It is the combination of native and migrant bird species, plus the ocean birds along the nearby canal, that have enabled the Panama Audubon Society to set the Christmas bird count world record for two decades straight.

A short drive to the west of the Mercado, at the end of a rough road and trail, is a simple remnant of El Valle's pre-Columbian culture called Piedra Pintada, a 15-foot boulder, the underside of which is covered with a bizarre collection of ancient petroglyphs. To get there, turn right at the end of Avenida Principal and left onto the second road after the bridge, then drive to the end of that road, where a foot path heads to the nearby boulder. Cars left at the trailhead have been broken into, so don't leave any valuables in your vehicle, and leave the doors unlocked to avoid broken windows.

Stretched along a small cove on the south side of the island, Playa Cacique is Contadora's loveliest beach, with pale beige sand backed by tropical trees and vacation homes. The water is calm and clear, making it a decent snorkeling spot, and a popular area for people to moor their boats. You can see Isla Chapera beyond those boats. The Villa Romántica hotel sits on the ridge behind the beach, and its restaurant is a good spot for lunch or a sunset drink. At low tide, you can walk west, around a small bluff, to a smaller beach called Playa Camarón. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: snorkeling; swimming; sunset.

One of Contadora's quietest beaches is Playa Ejecutiva, a few hundred yards north of the church and soccer field. It's a tiny beach that practically disappears at high tide, but the water is calm and safe for swimming, and you can snorkel around the point to the west of it. Its backed by a small forest, which provides convenient shade, and several vacation homes, the owners of which have built a attractive shelter behind the beach for parties. If you visit Contadora on a busy weekend, or holiday, this is a good spot to escape the crowd. Amenities: none. Best for: solitude; swimming.

Just north of the airstrip and east of the Hotel Punta Galeón, this small beach is one of Contadora's most popular spots. It's where the ferry arrives and departs from, so it can get crowded during the high season. But it's a good swimming beach, with calm, blue-green water, and it has decent snorkeling. This is a pretty convenient spot to hang out: the hotel's restaurant is next to the beach, Gerald's is just up the hill, and the welcome center, across from the airstrip, rents everything from towels and beach umbrellas to Jet Skis. Amenities: food and drink; toilets; water sports. Best for: snorkeling; swimming.

Contadora's longest beach, Playa Larga, stretches along the island's eastern end, in front of the long-vacant Hotel Contadora—the island's original resort. It's a lovely strip of ivory sand, backed by coconut palms, Indian almonds, and other trees, but the ruins of the hotel and the abandoned ferry boat at one end give it a forlorn feel. At high tide, it's a mere sliver of sand, whereas at low tide, massive black rocks are exposed. The water can be murky, so it usually isn't good for snorkeling. Amenities: none. Best for: solitude; swimming; walking.

Playa Santa Clara has the same pale sand with swaths of gray dirt as the adjacent, and more famous, Playa Blanca. The sea here is usually calm enough for swimming, but isn't a good spot for snorkeling. On those rare occasions when there are waves, you shouldn't go in any deeper than your waist, due to the danger of rip currents. Much of the beach is lined with vacation homes, but the Sheraton Bijao Beach Resort towers sits over its eastern end and the rambling Las Veraneras Restaurant sits behind its western end. The western end can get packed, and littered, on holidays and dry-season weekends, but this beach is quiet most of the year. Amenities: food and drink; parking (fee); toilets. Best for: partiers; swimming; walking.

Hidden in the island's southeast corner, at the end of the road that runs east from Villa Romantica, Playa Sueca (Swedish Beach) is Contadora's officially sanctioned nude beach. It is relatively small, backed by forest, with tan sand sloping into calm, aquamarine waters. At low tide, there are some exposed rocks in front of the beach. Be sure to use plenty of sunscreen on those pale parts! Amenities: none. Best for: solitude; nudists; swimming.

One of the country's oldest towns, San Pedro was founded in 1524, though its whitewashed church is the only surviving structure from the colonial era; folks here claim it is the second-oldest still-operating church in the Americas. The conquistador Francisco Pizarro embarked from Taboga in 1530 on his voyage to crush the Inca Empire, and it remained an important port until the 20th century. Because of the extreme variation of Panama's Pacific tides, ships were unable to moor near the coast of Panama, so the deep bay on Taboga's eastern shore was the perfect alternative. The Spanish built a fortress on Taboga in an attempt to defend the bay from pirates, the Pacific Steamship Company was based there during the 19th century, and the French built a sanatorium on the island during their attempt to build a canal. Upon completion of the canal, with its various docks and marinas, Taboga became what it is today, a sleepy fishing village that wakes up on weekends and holidays, when visitors from the capital arrive en masse.

There are few vehicles on the island, and most of its streets resemble extra-wide sidewalks. The main road runs along the town beach, Playa Honda, which lines a small bay holding dozens of fishing boats. Many of the bougainvillea-lined streets pass shrines to the Virgen del Carmen, considered the protector of fishermen throughout Latin America, who is celebrated every July 16 here.

A small but educational menagerie can be found at the Serpentario Maravillas Tropicales, an exhibit of a dozen snake species, frogs, iguanas, tarantulas, and scorpions a couple of blocks north of Avenida Principal. It belongs to Mario Urriola, one of the valley's top nature guides, who is often on hand to tell about the creatures on display.

Barro Colorado can be visited on full-day tours run by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), which depart the STRI dock in Gamboa at 7:15 on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, and 8 on weekends. The $80 tour is well worth the money, since the English-speaking guides do an excellent job of pointing out flora and fauna and explaining the rain forest's complex ecology. Lunch in the research station's cafeteria and boat transportation to and from Gamboa are included. Tours should be booked and paid for a minimum of two months in advance through the STRI website. Reservations that haven't been paid for 15 days before the tour will be canceled. If you failed to reserve, they sometimes have spaces available; it's worth calling the STRI office and asking.