PANAMA DISCOVERY
8 days/7 nights
A country so small yet filled with exuberant rainforests, wildlife and a rich cultural heritage. Discovering Panama includes traversing on Panama Canal waters looking for Red-napped tamarins, riding on historic trains, hiking in cloud forests searching for the elusive Resplendent Quetzal and exploring the underwater world of the Caribbean Sea.
2009 Departure Dates: November 21-28; December 19-26.
2010 Departure Dates: Feb 6-13; Mar 20-27; Jun 5-12; Aug 21-28; Nov 20-27; Dec 18-25
This tour may be scheduled on request with a minimum of 2 people. Please inquire.
2009-2010 Rates:$1995 per person plus 5% Panama tax in double occupancy. $430 single supplement. Minimum of 2 people required for the tour. Prices quoted through Nov. 30, 2010.
Pre tour ocean to ocean Panama Canal transit extension and post tour San Blas and the Kuna Indians extension available.
*Pre tour extension Dec. 22 will be a Panama Canal partial transit.
ITINERARY:
Day 1 Arrival in Panama
On arrival to Tocumen International Airport in Panama City, you will be met by our representative and transferred to your hotel.
Night at the HOLIDAY INN – PANAMA CANAL
Day 2 Chagres River & the Embera People
Early in the morning you are picked up at the lobby of your hotel by an Ancon Expeditions of Panama Naturalist Guide for a one hour drive to El Corotu on the shores of Madden Lake. The main reservoir of drinking water for the cities of Panama and Colon, Madden also supplies 40% of the water required for the operation of the Panama Canal. Here you will board a motorized piragua to travel up the Chagres River.
The dugout canoe journey will take you through the rainforests of the 320,000-acre Chagres National Park, the largest of the national parks protecting the Panama Canal Watershed. Along the Chagres River, you may be able to spot Little Blue and Green Heron, Great Egret, Anhinga, Neo-tropical Cormorant, Amazon, Ringed, and Green Kingfisher, along with Red-lored Amazon Parrot and Keel-billed Toucan flying above. Time and conditions allowing you will visit a waterfall where you can take a dip in the crystal-clear waters to cool down.
You will reach the Embera village where you will be greeted with dancing, music and a sumptuous lunch made up of fresh fish, plantains and tropical fruits prepared by your hosts. Learn about Embera customs and their relationship with nature while visiting the village. The Embera are famous for their basketry and wood carving skills. There will be handcrafts available for sale and you will have a chance to be painted with the traditional jagua, a natural dye used by the Embera to adorn their bodies. Early in the afternoon you will return to El Corotu for the drive back to Panama City.
Night at the HOLIDAY INN – PANAMA CANAL (BLD)
Day 3 Panama Canal Jungle Boat Adventure - Miraflores Locks - Chiriqui
Early in the morning you will be picked up by your Naturalist Guide and transferred to the town of Gamboa, at the Panama Canal, where you will board a specially equipped expedition boat. The voyage takes you across Gatun Lake in the Panama Canal passing by gigantic cargo ships transiting the waterway and making contrast with the natural surroundings. Along the way, you will have the opportunity to spot Green Iguana and Three-toed Sloth resting on tree branches, crocodile, Osprey in the hunt for Peacock Bass, Snail Kite and Keel-billed Toucan among other species. The expedition boat will allow for close approximations to rainforest covered islands in Gatun Lake to search for White-faced Capuchin, Howler Monkey, Spider Monkey and the endemic Red-napped Tamarin. You will have a picnic lunch on an island with extraordinary views of the Panama Canal and the natural surroundings. Early afternoon return to Gamboa and drive to the Miraflores Locks Visitors Center, where you will visit multiple exhibits of the canal and have the opportunity to view the operations of the Panama Canal.
In the afternoon you catch a flight from Albrook domestic airport to David, the capital of the Chiriqui province. Chiriqui is known as “Panama’s breadbasket” and contains some of the most breathtaking highland scenery in Central America. Transfer by van to the eastern side of the dormant Baru Volcano to the quaint town of Boquete with its countryside dotted with flower, fruit and vegetable farms, coffee plantations and extraordinary cloud forest environments.
Night at HOTEL PANAMONTE (BLD
Day 4 Cloud Forest Canopy Ziplining - Coffee Tour
This morning you will do a cloud forest canopy tree trek on a zipline that that allows you to contemplate the rainforest from fourteen different canopy platforms while smoothly soaring in the heights of the cloud forest from one treetop to another. You will glide through the trees and encounter a world unknown. You will discover a fascinating perspective of wildlife that you had never appreciated. Native species of flora and fauna can be observed. You will marvel at the sight of a great variety of orchids, trees and wildflowers that are found throughout the area.
This afternoon you have an interactive experience with coffee at Lerida Coffee Estate. The experts will explain all the process coffee beans go through. This is no ordinary coffee. Shade grown and scrutinized; Lerida’s coffee is world renown. Enjoy a fresh brewed cup of coffee while watching the spectacular sunset over the Baru Volcano, the highest peak of the country at 3,475 meters above sea level.
Night at HOTEL PANAMONTE (BLD)
Day 5 Continental Divide - Bocas del Toro
This morning you explore Finca Lerida, a privately owned preserve in Boquete, in the buffer zone of Baru Volcano National Park. At an elevation of 2,286 meters we have an opportunity to look for the elusive Resplendent Quetzal, Three-wattled Bellbird, Black-faced Solitaire, Volcano Hummingbird, Long-tailed Silky-Flycatcher and Prong-billed Barbet in their cool habitat of orchids, bromeliads and wild avocados.
You will hike through lush vegetation and arrive at the Collin’s shade-grown coffee farm where lunch will be served. You return to the hotel and prepare for oyur drive to Almirante, Bocas del Toro. In route across the Continental Divide, you stop at Fortuna Dam and spectacular waterfalls. You will be crossing the Palo Seco protected area that serves as buffer zone to La Amistad International Park. The transition from the cloud forests to the coral reefs of Bocas del Toro in the Caribbean Sea will be impressive. In Almirante you are met by your boat and transferred to Colon Island.
You have ample time to enjoy the hammocks on the upstairs deck or mingle with the locals in the small friendly town.
Night at the BOCAS INN (BLD
Day 6 Salt Creek Village - Bastimentos Marine National Park
You depart by boat from the Bocas Inn traversing the expanse of Bastimentos National Park, Panama’s first marine national park. You reach Salt Creek by navigating through clusters of Red Mangroves, which provide sea creatures with a protective area during their reproductive and development stages. Upon arrival you first enjoy a walk along Caiman trail. This trail takes you through several stages of lowland forest dynamics. Here, you will look for birds such as Red-throated Ant Tanager and Golden-collared Manakin (Cerritus sub sp.). Mammals such as Night Monkeys, White-faced Capuchins and Three-toed Sloths also live here. An older tract of rainforest has tall trees that provide life to birds such as the Three-wattled Bellbird and Green-breasted Mango. A nearby lagoon is home to Spectacled Cayman and Slider Turtle. On the ground you will look for the tiny endemic poison dart frog Dendrobates Pumilio. After the hike, you enjoy a visit to the indigenous community and a chance to purchase handicrafts such as painted woodcarvings and Ngobe handbags, followed by lunch. In the afternoon, you will snorkel among mangroves and coral reefs, searching for numerous fish species, as well as dynamic and brightly colored sea fans, sponges and brittle starfish.
Night at BOCAS INN (BLD)
Day 7 Boca del Drago - Panama City
Early in the morning you take a boat ride to Boca del Drago around Colon Island. Weather permitting, you visit Swan's Cay, a rock protruding from the depths of the Caribbean Sea, which serves as rookery for Red-billed tropic birds (the only place to be found in Panama) and Brown boobies. Along the coastline, returning to the lodge, you make stops at coral reefs and mangrove isles for snorkeling. Back at the lodge you have lunch and get ready for your return flight to Panama City. Upon arrival you will be transferred to your hotel. Tonight you enjoy a farewell dinner at a local restaurant.
Night at the HOLIDAY INN-PANAMA CANAL (BLD)
Day 8 Depart Panama
Today you are picked up at the lobby of the hotel 2.5 hours prior to your scheduled departure flight and transferred to Tocumen International Airport. Fly home (B)
Optional pre-tour to the San Blas Islands and post-tour Panama Canal transit available
TRIP CLASSIFICATION: Easy/moderate hiking 2-4 hours per day with rolling, slippery hills and optional activities such as snorkeling, rafting, extended hikes. Hotel or lodge accommodations are comfortable.
INCLUDED: Lodging, all land, air and water transportation within Panama. All airport/hotel transfers on scheduled arrival and departure dates, meals as specified in the itinerary (B - breakfast, L - lunch, D - dinner), park, museum and related entrance fees, guides’ services and expenses and the services of an in-bound land operator for airline re-confirmations and tour operations.
NOT INCLUDED: International airfare, tourist card ($5 per person), meals not specified in the itinerary, alcoholic beverages, personal equipment, extras in hotels (laundry, telephone calls, room service, etc.) or gratuities.
NOTE: Weight restrictions apply to luggage in commercial and chartered flights within Panama. A maximum of 25 lbs. of checked luggage and 10 lbs. of carry-on per person is allowed. Arrangements can be made with Ancon Expeditions to store luggage that will not be needed while away from the city. Excess baggage charges assessed by commercial carriers are the responsibility of the passenger.