Panama

Panama at a Glance

Capital City:
Panama City

Currency:
US dollar

Language:
Spanish

International Telephone Code:
+507

ISBN-13: 9781841622606

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Table of Contents

Introduction

PART ONE GENERAL INFORMATION

Chapter 1 Background Information
Location, Topography, Geography, Climate, History, Government and politics, Economy, People and culture, Language, Religion, Education, Natural history and conservation, Fires, earthquakes and other natural disasters, UNESCO in Panama

Chapter 2 Practical Information
When to visit (and why), Highlights, Tour operators, Tourist information, Red tape, Embassies and consulates, Getting there and away, Health, Safety, Focus on specific groups, What to take, Money and budgeting, Getting around, Accommodation, Eating and drinking, Public holidays and festivals, Shopping, Arts and Entertainment, Sport, Media and communications, Doing business in Panama, Buying property, Cultural etiquette, Giving something back

PART TWO THE GUIDE

Chapter 3 Panama City

History, Getting there, Getting around, Orientation, Tourist information, Where to stay, Where to eat, Entertainment and nightlife, Shopping, Other practicalities, What to see and do

Chapter 4 Panama Province

Panama Canal, Summit Botanical Gardens and Zoo, Parque Nacional Soberania, Parque Nacional Camino de Cruces, Gamboa Rainforest Resort, Isla Barro Colorado, Parque Nacional Chagres, Isla Taboga, Las Perlas Archipielago, Eastern Panama Province, Western Panama Province, Pacific Coast

Chapter 5 Cocle Province

Penonome, La Pintada, Parque Nocional Omar Torrijos (El Cope), Nata, Aguadulce, Anton, Rio Hato and Farallon, El Valle, Santa Clara

Chapter 6 Herrera province

Chitre, La Arena, Playa el Agallito, Parque Nacional Sarigua, Refugio de Vida Silvestre Cenegon del Mangle, Parita, Pese, Ocu

Chapter 7 Los Santos Province

Los Santos town, Los Santos-Guarare-Las Tablas, Pedasi

Chapter 8 Veraguas Province

Santiago, Santa Fe, Las Palmas, Sona, Montijo district and wetlands, Puerto Mutis, Parque Nacional Coiba, Parque Nacional Cerro Hoya

Chapter 9 Chiriqui Province

The lowlands, The highlands

Chapter 10 Bocas del Toro Province

The archipelago, Isla Colon, Isla Carenero (Careening Cay), Isla Bastimentos, Other islands, Mainland Bocas del Toro

Chapter 11 Colon Province

Colon City, Gatun Locks and Dam, Fort Davis and Fort Gulick, San Lorenzo Fort, Around Colon, Portobelo, Isla Grande, Nombre de Dios

Chapter 12 Kuna Yala

The origins of Kuna Yala, The Kuna people, Arts, crafts and traditions, Language, Festivals and events, Flora and fauna, Getting there, Visting Kuna Yala, The islands, Other practicalities

Chapter 13 Darien Province

Driving the Darien, What to take, Specialist wildlife and adventure tours, Parque Nacional Darien, Coastal Darien, The Darien interior

Appendix 1 Further Information

Appendix 2 Finding a home in Panama

Index

About the Author

Sarah Woods has travelled extensively worldwide and has worked as a freelance travel writer since the early 1990s, contributing to both consumer and trade travel magazines globally. She has recently spent extended periods in Panama working on articles that examined the growing popularity of the country as a tourism destination.

During a recent trip to Panama, author Sarah Woods rafted on the Rio Chiriquí and trekked through the formidable Darien jungle. She also spear-fished with the Embera indians on the mighty Rio Chagres, transited the Panama Canaland climbed Volcan Baru at 3,474 metres. Sarah is pictured (below) in less adventurous mode at the Hotel El Panama in the capital Panama City where she signed copies of her book by the pool.

 Pictured L-R: Miguel Castro (Customer Services), Sarah Woods (author: Bradt Guide to Panama) and Yamibel Diaz (Front of House).

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Guidebook Updates

Notes from the Author

"Although once overshadowed by its high profile neighbours, today Panama’s squiggle of land is very much a country on the up. Spectacular wild, tangled jungles, riverbank Indian villages, alpine-sloped volcanoes and golden sand islands have given it a soaring international profile – and unlike any other Panama guidebook on the market, the Bradt guide provides total insight to a country that remains largely undiscovered.

More than a third of Panama’s land is protected and home to 940 bird species, 1500 islands, 480 rivers, 125 unique species of wildlife, 40 conservation areas and off-shore waters rich in marine life. The isthmus has more to offer than straw hats, dictators, cigars and the world’s most famous shortcut - the "Big Ditch" - the Panama Canal.

Visitors will discover a land of opportunity and scenic splendour that boasts rainforests, beaches, valleys and mountains dotted with waterfalls, hot springs, caves and petroglyphs. Vast expanses of wilderness support a biodiversity attributable to Panama’s crossroads location, a land bridge linking North and Central America comprising wetlands, grasslands, forests and coastal plains. More fishing records have been broken here than anywhere else on the planet, while Panama’s turtle nesting sites are some of the most important in the world.

Festivals, parades and rituals celebrate Panama’s seven indigenous peoples, Spanish heritage and mixed ethnicities with gusto. From masked parades and Congo drumming to carnival floats and puberty rites, a riot of colour, noise and pride. Puma prowl and giant Harpy eagles roost just 45 minutes from the capital’s gleaming financial district, while at just 50km wide at its narrowest point Panama’s land mass is easily traversable in a day. Dip a toe in the Caribbean Sea in the morning sun and be on the Pacific coast by lunchtime - much like a transiting vessel on the Panama Canal.

Panama is no flawless travel brochure cliché. This guide will help visitors overcome the obstacles of Panamanian bureaucracy and illustrates how Panama can be awe-inspiring, humbling and maddening - all in one day. Travel through Panama requires patience, a skill for second-guessing, and an acceptance that things will change in an instant without warning. Timetables are unpredictable. Working hours open to loose interpretation. Maps are inaccurate. Public holidays occur without notice. Places have at least three names spelt at least four ways. Roads terminate unannounced. And even some of Panama’s medium-sized towns see no need for street names – and this guide helps advise on them all. Panama is never dull and this guide captures its excitement with great accuracy – setting the scene for visitors before arrival and providing informed companionship for the journey en route."

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