Page 192 - The Rough Guide to Panama (Travel Guide)

190 Chiriquí and Veraguas The Chiriquí highlands
5 and café is a major expat meeting place, serving great nine-grain and rye. Sweet snacks include a mouthwatering
cooked breakfasts (around $5), salads, soups and deli- array of muffins. Mon, Tues & Thurs–Sat 8am–6pm, Sun
sandwiches using their posh breads, such as sourdough, 8am–4pm.
drinKing and nighTLiFe
Big Pool C 5 Sur. The nicest of several pool halls, emitting beers ($4.50 a pint or $6.50 for a three-beer tasting tray) and
a friendly vibe, and selling cheap beer. A pleasant enough ciders– some packing a punch – along with a bar food menu.
place to while away a rainy evening. Daily 4pm until late. Occasional live music at the weekend. Daily 2–10pm.
Boquete Brewing Company Av Central, 200m north of La Cabaña Left after the bridge, 200m north of the
the church T6403 7576, Wboquetebrewingcompany fairgrounda. For a loud blast of a variety of sounds and
.com. The place to quench your thirst after a hike, and a blinking plasma screens, try dancing or drinking in this
favourite expat hangout, offering a changing menu of craft joint’s dark recesses. Fri & Sat 8pm–late.

Parque Nacional Volcán Barú
Jade-coloured cloud forests sit in the mist high above Boquete, many of them within
the boundaries of PARQUE NACIONAL VOLCÁN BARÚ, which stretches west towards the
town of Volcán. This is prime birdwatching territory, and the favoured habitat of the
metallic green resplendent quetzal, the Holy Grail of Boquete birding. The male in
particular, with its ruby breastplate and lengthy trailing iridescent tail, which it only
dons for the breeding season, is a dazzling sight. These otherwise elusive birds are at
their most visible from the end of December to April, just after first light, when
breeding pairs can sometimes be seen on the path.
Hiking trails range from a gentle undulating stroll round Finca Lérida to an
eight-hour slog up and down Volcán Barú, with several scenic options in between.

Trails around Finca Lérida
Daily 7am–4.30pm • Guided birdwatching hikes cost $80/person and last about 4hr, including lunch; day-visitors pay $12/person to walk
the trails with a map • Take an Alto Quiel bus from Boquete and get off at the entrance (20–25min)
The Finca Lérida ecolodge (see p.188) offers good-value hikes through the 10km of
trails on its estate; birdwatching, you may see quetzals, highland hummingbirds such as
the white-throated mountain gem, sulphur-winged parakeets, silver-throated tanagers
and the impressive black guan. Much of the trail network actually lies within the
Parque Internacional Amistad (see p.197), which abuts the Barú national park. You can
join a guided hike, or pay for a sketch map and head off up through the coffee fields
and cloud forest on your own.

Sendero de las Tres Cascadas
North of Boquete on the Bajo Mono loop • Daily 7am–3pm • $7 • T6691 9144, Wthelostwaterfalls.com • Driving, turn right at the
T-junction 8.5–9km north of Boquete, in the direction of the Sendero de los Quetzales, and park at the sign 1.2km along the road (from
where it’s a 10min hike to the entrance); otherwise, catch a Bajo Mono bus, get off at the T-junction and walk the rest of the way, or take
a taxi (around $7–8)

SAFETY IN THE MOUNTAINS
although you can enjoy the shorter trails round Boquete on your own, you should really
undertake the longer routes – including the popular, scenic Sendero de los Quetzales –
with an experienced guide (see p.187), who should have a first-aid kit and emergency
equipment with them. although in fine weather travellers usually successfully negotiate these
longer trails without a guide, every year someone gets seriously lost once the bad weather has
closed in – most notably in 2014 when two young dutch backpackers set off on the il Pianista
trail – now off limits – and never returned. Whichever trail you take, don’t hike alone and make
sure you tell your lodgings where you are going. in recent years, the authorities have tended to
close the national park trails altogether when the weather is bad.

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