Located at the southern tip of Central America, Panama is an incredible destination for the novice travel - and the adventure seeker!!!
Panama City is like many other international cities, there are large buildings, McDonalds (and most other North American fast food and clothing chains), banks, offices, and all that jazz... but it differs to every other as there is the most incredible wildlife and jungle minutes away!!!
MUST SEE #1 - The Jungle
- Panama continues to protect this incredible jungle space, only approximately a 15 minute drive from the downtown core of their largest city center. There are many tours you can take, either driving or boating alongside the Canal and experiencing some of the most diverse wildlife in the world!
There are MANY tours that you can take, my favourite was...
It was one of the most expensive tours from the city, but well worth the extra money for the incredible tour guide and a priceless experience that included seeing a Sloth up close, holding a 1-day-old crocodile, seeing a red-eyed tree frog, and soo much more!
MUST SEE #2 - The Panama Canal
This truly is a marvel of the world! Originally the French tried to dig a sea-level channel through Panama to connect the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans in approximately 1880, but sadly did not succeed. Then the Americans came with the successful idea to build a lock system and canal through Panama in 1903. The history of the construction, and current day maintenance, of this impressive engineering feat is so incredible and will blow your mind (as it did mine!). Check out more info about this at https://www.history.com/topics/panama-canal
The Miraflores Visitor Center is a MUST SEE, but give yourself lots of time - at least 2 hours, as there are 4 floors on interactive and fascinating exhibits to discover and learn from. As well, your ticket to the center includes access to the Viewing Deck to watch ships go through the locks!
MUST SEE #3 - The Historic Old City (Casco Viejo)
This small area is full of incredible architecture with buildings in colonial and French style. Though some of the buildings might be a little worse for wear, you can really imagine how incredible it must have been in it's prime! In fact, Panama has started restoring many of the old buildings in this area creating a huge juxtaposition between the rich and the poor... which a great topic to start chatting with some locals about, everyone has different opinions on this initiative!
For more info on the best sites in Casco Viejo, check out their locally updated site - http://cascoviejo.org/sights-to-visit/
MUST SEE #4 - The Bridge around Casco Viejo
This is way more of a trail, then just a bridge around a city. There is separate areas for pedestrians, cyclists, and motor vehicles - with incredible viewing areas along the way for pedestrians and cyclists to stop and snap some awesome pictures! Also, this area is meticulously maintained with security and gardeners flying around in golf carts ensuring everything looks perfect, and that you feel safe walking along it!
Michaychay Tip: rent a bike and take it along the path! It can be a pretty long walk from one end to the other, and there is a lot of bike parking along the way for when you stop to take pictures!
MUST SEE #5 - Bird Watching at Panama Rainforest Discovery Center
Bird watching is not something I usually get so excited about, but the incredibly diverse and uniques sittings available in the Panama rainforest were enough to get me jumping with joy out of bed at 4:30am to get to the Discovery Center (about 30-45 min from the city center)! Seeing a real Toucan Sam has always been on my bucket list, and this is one of the best ways to do it!!!
There is a large canopy to climb up in the center of the Discovery Centre and well worth the 42 flights of stairs to get up there! :)
Michachay Tip: There is a small building, with a rest area that has clean western-style toilets and FREE coffee, and also is the home to many types of hummingbirds! This a fantastic place to have breakfast and enjoy the sites of the lower to ground birds and animals!
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