Guadalupe Travel Guide

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We had heard that Panama was a very good place to see the Resplendent Quetzal.
This is especially true during the nesting season from Jan -May.
From our cabin balcony we got lucky and saw a male and a female both days that we were there.
The guide came early on the first morning that we stayed in the park. He took us to see a pair at their nests, in a tree.
They are a beautiful bird, so few of them left.

There are no restaurants in the park and unless you are staying several days you probably didn't bring groceries.
The solution? Hire a cook.
For a small fee a lady will come to your cabin and cook as many meals a day as you would like her to. She brings the food, cooks the meal, and cleans up everything before she leaves.

Favorite Dish: Her and her son always brought a fresh trout out of the pond below, to cook for our dinner.
She also prepared several local side dishes.
I am not sure what they were but they were very good.

When you stay at the Cabanas Los Quetzales, your nighttime sport will be keeping the fire going.
There is no heat nor electricity in the cabins but there is plenty of wood to keep the fire in the stove going.
When the flames burn down it is time to go to bed.
The birds go to retire early and so will you.

Dress Code: Something warm. It goes get cool in the cabanas.

I don't know that this is a tip but can you believe how dirty these feeders are?
I clean my feeders every time I refill them but I don't think that they do that here.
I know it was very humid and rainy but these are very bad.
The birds didn't seem to mind the grunge though.

There are no real dangers here in the park.
No mosquitos, no see ums, nor any venomous snakes .
That is always good to know.
What you see here is gems, like the White-throated mountain gem, in the picture.

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Luggage and bags: Something easy to carry up the hill to your cabin.

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: You will need good walking/hiking shoes or boots. Something to keep you dry. Plus something to keep you warm at night. It gets chilly up this high.

Toiletries and Medical Supplies: Don't forget to bring your bath soap and if I remember right there were no bath towels either. Bring anything that you may need because you won't find it here..

Photo Equipment: Bring lots and lots of film or a large memory stick. You will be taking a ton of pictures.
Bring some large zip lock bags to keep everything out of the rain

Camping/Beach/Outdoor Gear: Bring your tent if you plan to camp out.
Most of all don't forget to bring you binoculars.

Miscellaneous: Your flashlight or torch will come in very handy if you happen to get up in the middle of the night.

Parque International La Amistad is a 407,000 hectare park which is half in Costa Rica and half in Panama.
From Guadalupe, on the Panama side, it is a short drive or walk to the park.
We went there to see the Quetzal and we were amazed to see so many species of hummingbirds there as well.

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Favorite thing: My favorite memory of this area is all the birds that you can see without leaving your cabana.
Just step out on your patio or balcony and you will see hummingbirds everywhere.
The area has 25 different species of hummingbirds. It is unbelievable
One of my favorites, if you can have a favorite, is the Violet Sabrewing.
It is a large hummer with a long bill The male is mostly a brilliant dark violet