Long before the completion of its famous Canal, Panama was one of the world’s great crossroads.
Bordered by Costa Rica to the north and buffered from South America by the all-but-impenetrable jungles of the Darien, the country has a beguiling wealth of natural assets. Its geological formation just three million years ago changed the world in numerous ways, uniting continents and dividing seas, and producing an extraordinary biodiversity that combines elements from both North and South America.
Although its US ties have created the perception that Panama is a quasi-American colony, Europeans, Africans, Asians and some of the least assimilated indigenous communities in the Americas have all contributed to making Panamanian society varied and open-minded. The contrasts between, for example, the intense energy of Panama City’s social scene and the laid-back matriarchal Kuna Yala communities of the San Blas Islands make for a rich and rewarding travel experience.
"Beyond the city limits, the rest of the country offers a wonderful assortment of riches to lure the curious traveller."
Lying at the southern end of the famous canal, Panama City makes a great introduction or finale to a journey in Panama. One of Central America’s most dynamic and exciting cities, it has a vibrant food scene, great clubs and museums, a fascinating old quarter and a spectacular urban rainforest. Beyond the city limits, the rest of the country offers a wonderful assortment of riches to lure the curious traveller from cool volcanic highlands draped in cloud forest to coral atolls basking under the Caribbean sun.
North and east of the city, you’ll find the old pirate haunt of Portobelo, the yachting paradise of the San Blas Islands and the famous terra incognita of the Darien Gap, where we can organise serious expeditions to remote Embera Indian communities. Heading west, on both the Caribbean and Pacific coasts are mile upon mile of unbroken beach, and a confetti of island groups to explore from Bocas del Toro in the north to brooding Coiba and the sparkling tropical islets of the Gulf of Chiriqui in the south. A handful of quite outstanding resorts and private villas here provide access to Panama’s spectacular marine wildlife. Humpback whales, whale sharks, manta rays and huge pods of dolphin all come to these clear warm waters to feed and mate, and joining them in their natural environment is a very special experience indeed.
The range and quality of accommodation in Panama has improved by leaps and bounds in the last decade. From the most elegant and atmospheric of boutique hotels in Panama City to hedonistic private island escapes, it’s all too easy to bliss out on a hammock as a pampered castaway or plan your next Graham Greene-inspired novel. Panama’s pre-eminence as a sailing destination means that chartering a superyacht or a luxury catamaran is a fabulous way to explore the country, stopping off to snorkel or dive uninhabited islands or venturing in a tender up a remote jungle river. And, as befits one of Latin America’s most exciting gastronomic destinations, the food is usually superb.
