Page 194 - The Rough Guide to Panama (Travel Guide)

192 Chiriquí and Veraguas The Chiriquí highlands
5 arriVaL and deParTure Parque naCiOnaL VOLCÁn BarÚ
MIA STATIONS AND FEES By bus You can take a bus as far as the T-junction, followed
If you are on a tour or with a guide (see p.187) – which is by a 3km hike.
advisable – the park fee ($5) is often included in the tour
price. Independent hikers can pay the fee at the MIA eL resPingO ranger sTaTiOn
stations at either end of the Sendero de los Quetzales, By taxi Hiring a 4WD taxi from Cerro Punta to the park
about 8km apart: the Alto Chiquero ranger station and office a 40min hike below the trailhead will cost around $8
refuge is at the Boquete side of the trek, while the El ($30 to go right up to the refuge); contact taxi driver
Respingo ranger station is at the Cerro Punta end. There are Ricardo T6516 8638.
also two small, unnamed MIA offices at the start of the trail By bus You can get dropped off any Cerro Punta-bound bus
that climbs Volcán Barú, on both the Boquete and Cerro from Volcán and walk the rough 5km road to the office.
Punta sides. These places are often unstaffed.
THE VOLCÁN BARÚ TRAILHEAD
aLTO ChiquerO ranger sTaTiOn You’ll need a 4WD taxi to take you to the trailhead
By taxi The Alto Chiquero park office, accessible by 2WD is ($8–10) from Boquete; you can arrange a pickup time, or
a steep, almost completely tarred 11km up from Boquete, simply walk down to the main road and flag down a taxi
reachable by taxi ($10–12). or bus there.
inFOrMaTiOn
Park information Contact the MIA regional office in Transportes Ferguson (Boquete T720 1454, Volcán T771
David (T774 6671); ask for Áreas Protegidas. 4566; both Mon–Fri 8.30am–4pm, Sat 8.30am–noon).
Luggage transport service Backpackers wanting to hike They have an office at Av 1 Oeste at C 4 Sur in Boquete, and
the Sendero de los Quetzales one way and who don’t want another behind the petrol station in Volcán, and will charge
to be encumbered with their rucksack should go to $5 to courier your rucksack to the other location within 24hr.
aCCOMMOdaTiOn
In addition to the camping detailed below there is also a small camping spot about two-thirds of the way up Volcán Barú,
though it’s on an inconvenient slope, with no facilities. The police at the security post by the summit may also allow you to
sleep in their hut for a small fee.

MIA bunkhouses/camping Contact MIA’s David office still being accepted at the ranger stations. Camping also
(T774 6671) and ask for Áreas Protegidas. You can available. Camping $6, dorms $15
arrange to sleep in the bunkhouse at the ranger stations at Mirador la Roca Halfway along the Sendero de los
either end of the Sendero de los Quetzales, though you’ll Quetzales. The nicest camping location, at a picnic spot
need to take warm bedding and food, and be prepared for with tables, but with no other facilities. $6
cold-water showers. At the time of writing payments were
Volcán
Spreadeagled on the lower western slopes of Volcán Barú, at an altitude of 1700m,
the twelve-thousand-strong town of VOLCÁN (formally known as El Hato de Volcán)
is little more than a glorified road junction en route to the more appealing fertile
valleys of Cerro Punta and the cloud forests of the Parque International La Amistad,
or the little-used Costa Rica border crossing at Río Sereno. That said, it does offer
the most impressive views of the volcano, and as the retirement and real estate
boom gradually seeps west of Boquete, tourism is beginning to take root. There
are a few diverting excursions, not least to scale Volcán Barú (see p.191), and you
could easily spend a couple of enjoyable days exploring the area, but if you’re short
of time it’s probably best to push on to Cerro Punta and Guadalupe. Even if you
don’t overnight here, a couple of good restaurants and relaxed ambience make
Volcán a convenient pit stop and anyone set on self-catering up in the mountains
should stock up on supplies (leaving the fruit and vegetables to Cerro Punta) and
visit a bank.

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