Page 176 - The Rough Guide to Panama (Travel Guide)

174 The Azuero PeninsulA The souThern coasT
ArriVAl AnD DePArTure CAMBuTAl AnD ArounD
By bus To reach Playa Cambutal or Playa Guánico Abajo Guánico Abajo departures are at 7am and 1.30pm,
you first need to take a bus to Tonosí from Las Tablas (8am, returning to Tonosí at 10am and 3pm.
10am, then hourly until 5pm; 1hr 20min). From Playa By car The roads to Cambutal and Guánico Abajo are
Venao, take the first bus to Cañas, and catch the 8am tarred, but at the time of writing sections of the road
minivan to Tonosí. From Tonosí local buses depart from between Playa Venao and Tonosí were in a poor state; seek
outside the two supermarkets in the town centre, near the advice before driving a saloon car there in the rainy season.
main square. Cambutal departures are at approximately By taxi A taxi from Tonosí to Playa Cambutal or Playa
8am, 10am and 2pm, returning to Tonosí at 7am and 11am; Guánico Abajo costs $15.
inForMATion AnD Tours
MIA office Just off the main square in Tonosí (Mon–Fri square in Tonosí.
8am–4pm; T995 8180). They may be able to help with Turtle patrols Tortuagro (T6264 9124, Wfacebook
information on Isla de Cañas, and on accessing Parque .com/agrotortugasc), Cambutal’s local turtle conservation
Nacional Cerro Hoya (see below). group welcomes visitors on nightly beach patrols and for
Bank The only bank (with ATM) in the area is on the main hatchling releases (July–Dec), for a small donation.
ACCoMMoDATion AnD eATinG
PLAYA CAMBUTAL Surf Camp Guánico T6677 2899, Wsurfcampguanico
★ Hostal Kambutaleko T6677 0229, Whostal .com. In a great beachside location, this stylish surf camp
kambutaleko.com. Breezy hilltop hostal with charming has one six-bed dorm with rustic bunks, lockers and shared
hosts, boasting five simple fan-ventilated doubles and one cold-water facilities, as well as pricier doubles and family
4 family room with a/c, all sharing a wraparound, ocean- rooms upstairs at various rates (shared or private bathroom;
view terrace. All have a private bathroom and some have a
fan or a/c), some of which boast a fabulous ocean-facing
fridge. No kitchen, but there’s an affordable patio balcony. The bar-food menu is limited, but you can use the
restaurant. $45 kitchen (for $3 extra) or eat nearby. Surf lessons are
Hotel Playa Cambutal T832 0948, Whotel available, as is board, SUP and kayak rental and excursions
playacambutal.net. The new colonial-style hotel on the to Cerro Hoya. There’s also a delightful private “love nest”
beach offers ten spacious ocean-view rooms. Fishing beach shack aimed at longer-term lets. Dorm $16, doubles
charters, kayaking, horseriding and hiking excursions can $50, beach shack $80
all be arranged and service is friendly and professional.
Buffet breakfast included. $135 TONOSÍ
Hotel Mi Valle Main square T995 8089,
PLAYA GUÁNICO ABAJO Ehotelmivalle@gmail.com. Modern, functional hotel
Jorón On the beach. Large attractive rancho with carved facing the park in the centre of town, offering 24 bland but
wooden pillars, where you can tuck into large plates of clean en-suite rooms with the usual amenities (a/c,
concha, camarones or fish with rice or patacones from $8. satellite TV, wi-fi); some have fridges. The on-site
Beer is cheap ($1) and flows at weekends. Daily 9am–9pm. restaurant serves inexpensive Panamanian food. $30

Parque Nacional Cerro Hoya
Tucked away in the southwest corner of the Azuero Peninsula, PARQUE NACIONAL
CERRO HOYA covers 325 square kilometres of the isthmus’s most ancient volcanic rocks,
and contains more than thirty species of endemic plant. This is one of the country’s
most inaccessible parks; transport is tricky, and formal trails and accommodation are
lacking – which is why MiAmbiente currently does not collect an entry fee. But the
rewards are plenty: giant mahogany, cedar, cuipo and ceiba trees soar above the forest
canopy, and carpets of moist forest rise up from the sea to lofty Cerros Hoya (1559m),
Moya (1478m) and Soya (1326m). A few scarlet and great green macaws maintain a
fragile foothold in the forest, as does the endemic Azuero parakeet; other critically
endangered species include the Azuero spider and howler monkeys, while substantial
populations of white-tailed deer pick their way through the forest floor, shared with
agoutis, collared peccaries and coatis. As the park’s name suggests (hoya means river
bed), the massif nourishes more than ten major rivers, home to caimans and otters,

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