Unique Places in Panama

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Paradise Gardens is a wildlife sanctuary set up Paul and Jenny Saban from England. It is a lovely place to spend half a day in. You can see a variety of Panamanian wildlife in a beautiful setting. There are ocelots, margays, kinkajous, macaws, several monkeys, toucans and a large number of species of smaller birds. Each of them has been rescued from a sorry situation, for example, being used as street performers or kept as maltreated pets. Several of the macaws belonged to a drug baron who's now in prison. I think they were brave to take them!

If you are lucky, Paul and Jenny will let you get really close to some of the animals and even hold a few.

Admission: $5

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I spent three pleasant days hiking the huge network of rain forest trails developed by the owners of this isolated mountain lodge. The trails, steep, muddy, and slippery, are not for amateurs, but the views--beautiful waterfalls, scenic vistas, and rainbows and the rain forest ecology--more than make up for the effort expended. Eating lunch at the base of a waterfall that must have been 50 meters high was one of the high points of all my years of hiking. I was disappointed by the lack of impressive wildlife, but perhaps I simply experienced a run of bad luck.

The lodge offers spartan but pleasant accomodations. The owners are of Swiss descent, which shows in the cleanliness and orderliness of the place. A good breakfast and supper are available at reasonable prices, and the owners will prepare sandwiches for day hikes. There is not much to do here but hike, so you'd be well advised to bring novels and board games to keep yourself entertained while not hiking.

The lodge is about a mile from the highway that crosses Panama from David to Chiriqui Grande. It is marked with an easily visible sign by the highway. Bus drivers will stop there on request and can be flagged down for a return trip.

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If you take one of the many tours that different touring companies or hotels on the island provide whether its dolphin bay, Frog Island, or snorkeling tour. I've discovered that the best place to snorkel is under the restaurants that the guide will end up taking you to for lunch. These areas under the restaurants are completely filled with all kind of different species of fish. The fishes hang around these restaurants looking for, of cause an easy hand out.

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On the outskirts of El Valle de Anton is a forest trail which will lead you past the Arboles Quadrados, or square trees. These trees have a trunk which is square at its base, but gradually becomes rounder as it ascends, taking on the look of a normal tree. There aren’t many of them. I only saw five.

The trail begins in the grounds of the Hotel Campestre. It takes about fifteen minutes to reach the square trees. When I was there, a storm had left the trail littered with fallen trees, which I had to crawl under or clamber over. Wear good footwear as it can get muddy.

Probably when you get there, you'll be scratching your head deciding wther or not you are actually looking at a square tree. I really didn't know what to expect. I thought they might have massive box-like trunks, but they are actually very slender, rather unspectacular trees. Hopefully, my photos will help you recognise them.

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Cayos Zapatillas are a pair of unihabited tropical islands in the Bocas del Toro archipelago, off the Caribbean coast of Panama. You can reach them by hiring a water taxi for the day from Bocas del Toro town on Isla Colón, at a cost of around $20 per person including snorkeling gear.

They are in a protected marine park 30 km south-east of Isla Colón and you must pay an extra $10 to enter the park, but once there, you will find paradise: deserted white sand beaches, coral reef, palm trees and virgin forest. Four species of turtle lay there eggs here. It is just about perfect, but there is literally a fly in the ointment: there are plenty of sand flies here, so you will need to use insect repellant.

From the top of Ancon Hill you can see the whole of Panama CIty and a great section of jungle. This is a safe way to see the forest primeval. It is in the province of Balboa and easy to find. It is the hill with a huge Panamanian flag on it.

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If you are out driving on the interamericana it is an interesting drive to Chiriqui Grande.
The scenery along the way is rich in vegetation, mountains, and an maybe a water fall.
The small port city of Chiriqui Grande is not very attractive but it is worth a visit. Plus there is a gas station there.

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Mi Jardin Su Jardin is a beautiful garden surrounding a private estate. The gardens are open to the public. If you love flowers this is a don't miss place to visit. You can also go inside some of the buildings to look around. Don't miss the glass top dining room table with the pool beneath the floor. There is also a small gift shop.