Page 186 - The Rough Guide to Panama (Travel Guide)

184 Chiriquí and Veraguas The Chiriquí highlands
5 recognition of its agricultural importance; soon the United Fruit Company began
banana production round Puerto Armuelles in 1927 and coffee plantations started to
thrive. It is on such plantations that the Ngäbe and Buglé now work, travelling great
distances throughout the provinces of Chiriquí and Bocas del Toro – migrant wage
labourers on rich lands that once belonged to their ancestors.

The Chiriquí Highlands
North of David rise the slopes of the eastern limits of the Cordillera de Talamanca,
home to Volcán Barú (3475m), the country’s highest point. These are the Chiriquí
Highlands, or Tierras Altas, a region of forested peaks, fertile valleys and mountain
villages. The cool, temperate climate and stark scenery give the highlands a distinctly
Alpine feel, an impression reinforced by the influence of the many European migrants
who have settled here since the nineteenth century. Sadly, their agricultural success
poses a threat to the survival of the region’s spectacular cloud forests, which have been
cleared at a devastating rate over the past forty years, while Chiriquí’s picturesque rivers
have attracted major hydroelectric projects, which are beginning to cause serious
environmental damage, as well as posing a major threat to the livelihoods and cultural
heritage of the indigenous communities.
More positively, large tracts of forest are now protected by Parque Nacional Volcán
Barú and Parque Internacional La Amistad, whose flanks are home to wildlife including
jaguars, pumas, tapirs and resplendent quetzals, and whose trails offer some of the best
hiking in Panama.
Two roads wind up into the highlands on either side of Volcán Barú. The first climbs due
north to Boquete, an idyllic coffee-growing town cradled in a picturesque valley, which has
become popular among foreign retirees and tourists and is the easiest place from which to
climb Volcán Barú. The second runs north from the town of La Concepción, 25km west of
David, snaking 32km through countless dairy farms to the smaller settlement of Volcán,
before threading its way through a steep-sided valley to Cerro Punta, the highest village in
Panama and the best base for visiting the cloud forests and Amistad.

Boquete
Set in a scenic valley on the banks of the Río Caldera, 37km north of David and
1000m above sea level, BOQUETE is the largest town in the Chiriquí Highlands, with a
population of more than 22,000. It is to gourmet coffee what Bordeaux is to fine wine,
with an array of informative finca tours to choose from (see p.187). It’s also a popular
weekend resort, offering some of the country’s best hiking, birdwatching and adventure
sports in a delightfully refreshing climate. Life in the laidback town revolves around the
small Parque Central and the main street, Avenida Central, dotted with souvenir shops,
with a couple of low-key attractions on its fringes. There’s plenty to occupy you for
several days – longer if you take a Spanish course at one of the town’s acclaimed
language schools (Whablayapanama.com; Wspanishatlocations.com).

BOQUETE’S FESTIVALS
Boquete’s main festival, Feria de Flores y Café (Wferiadeboquete.com), takes place midway
through the coffee harvest in January. its ten-day riot of craft stalls, flowers, stage shows and
throbbing late-night music centres on the fairgrounds bordering the eastern banks of the
río Caldera. around $20,000 is spent annually on a vibrant floral carpet – which you can
still admire once the fair has ended. The fairgrounds burst into colour again for the annual
Feria de las Orquídeas in april, while the Boquete Jazz and Blues Festival
(Wboquetejazzandbluesfestival.com) reels in visitors in February/March.

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