Easily accessible Metropolitan National Park (Parque Natural Metropolitano) ranks as one of Latin America's only municipal wildlife reserves, encompassing 573 acres (232 hectares) in the heart of the city. Though not exactly pristine—it was a key staging area during the 1989 US invasion—it remains a remarkably well-preserved dry tropical forest, one of the world's most threatened biomes.
Once a jungle-covered mountain overlooking the Chagres River Valley, Barro Colorado Island became an island after Lake Gatún flooded during the building of the Panama Canal. Today travelers come to the protected rain forest preserve to explore the secondary-growth forest and enjoy the park’s great biodiversity.
Sparkling like a jewel at the edge of the enormous Darién wilderness, tranquil Bayano Lake (Lago Bayano) was created in 1976 and has been a scenic escape from the big city ever since. The famed Bayano Lake Caves, a Paleolithic cavern carved by water erosion over the centuries, riddle the lake’s undulating southern shore.
Tumbling 280 feet (85 meters) from dense jungle, Chorro el Macho waterfall is a scenic highlight of the Anton Valley (El Valle de Anton). Included in many guided tours of the area, the waterfall offers visitors a chance to spend time in the lush forest that blankets the Anton Valley, which is the crater of an extinct volcano.
Presiding over Cathedral Square (Plaza de la Catedral) in the Old Town (Casco Viejo), the Metropolitan Cathedral is one of Panama City’s most significant religious buildings and a striking landmark. Constructed between 1688 and 1796, the cathedral’s conglomeration of neoclassical, baroque, and Renaissance architectural styles has been painstakingly restored in recent years and remains a working church.
Perched at the mouth of the Panama Canal, Punta Culebra Nature Center introduces visitors of all ages to the country’s vibrant biodiversity. You'll encounter bright frogs, colorful fishes, sloths, and other wildlife at its indoor-outdoor exhibits. Highlights include aquariums and two short walking trails through a dry tropical forest.
Gorgeous Contadora Island (Isla Contadora), close to the capital, was once the seat of the Spanish pearl industry in the surrounding archipelago. Today, the Counting House Island, as it’s called, is home to elegant mansions, upscale shopping and dining options, and a wealth of outdoor adventure opportunities both in the water and on land.
Panama is home to seven indigenous tribes, including the Embera, who live in the middle of the rain forest and have mostly resisted modernization. Houses are typically built on stilts at the riverside, where they’re organized around a communal dwelling. Visit an Embera village for a unique glimpse at a traditional way of life.
There are many opportunities around Panama City to learn about the famous Panama Canal. To understand more about many of the people who helped build it, however, head to the Afro-Antillean Museum of Panama (Museo Afro-Antillano de Panama). The small museum focuses on the Afro-Antillean peoples and their role in the canal.
Hidden in the heart of the Anton Valley, the Piedra Pintada, or Painted Rock, is one of Panama’s most enigmatic sites. Standing about 10 feet (three meters) tall, the gigantic sandstone boulder harbors a fascinating collection of pre-Columbian petroglyphs painted on its underside.
This 17th-century church in Panama City’s Casco Viejo neighborhood is famed for its golden altar, far grander than the building’s modest exterior. The altar is actually older than the church and was salvaged from Panama Viejo (Old Panama Ruins) following a devastating 1671 attack and looting by the privateer Sir Henry Morgan.
Located on an island south of Panama City, Fuerte Amador Cruise Port is an important stopover for cruise ships entering and exiting the Panama Canal. Ten minutes away by car, Panama’s capital city is a vibrant metropolis with energetic nightlife, historic architecture, and some of the country’s finest museums.
