Panama travel guide

The Panama Canal is one of the world’s greatest engineering feats, an achievement which transformed much of the modern world, let alone parts of Panama – bringing construction, cargo and cash. Lots of cash. Perhaps this is why it is so surprising to discover then that for all its glitz and glamour, much of this country remains something of a lost world, clad in still-unexplored rainforest, with empty beaches, mangrove swamps and tribespeople, all undisturbed by the canal and its associated capitalism.

Though barely larger than Ireland, Panama manages to shelter one in 10 of all the world’s bird species within its forests and coasts, along with manatees, caiman, spider monkeys and sea turtles. Panama City is a soaring jungle of glass skyscrapers, yet just a couple of hours away live indigenous communities, still traveling by dugout canoe, weaving bags and baskets from forest fibres, fishing for food and speaking one of seven native languages, unique to this country.

S-shaped Panama actually lies east-west rather than north-south, with the Caribbean on its north coast and the Pacific to its south. The first port of call if entering from Costa Rica will be the archipelago of Bocas del Toro; from here most tours wind their way up into the highlands and cloud forests, zig-zagging between coasts and ending either in Panama City or continuing on from there to the autonomous San Blas Islands. Although Panama is small, the mountain and jungle terrain and poor infrastructure once you leave the Pan-American Highway mean that road journeys can be long and tedious, and internal flights may be needed, even though the distances look short.