Page 94 - The Rough Guide to Panama (Travel Guide)

92 The Panama Canal and CenTral isThmus
The Panama Canal and central

isthmus

Running 80km across the isthmus between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans,
straddling the provinces of Panama and Colón, the Panama Canal remains a
2 colossus among engineering achievements, a truly awe-inspiring sight and
justifiably the country’s prime tourist attraction. What’s more, it can easily be
explored on an excursion from Panama City, with the Centro de Visitantes de
Miraflores offering the best location from which to view the action. Though
the corridor that flanks this vital thoroughfare is home to almost two-thirds
of Panama’s population, for much of its length the waterway cleaves through
pristine rainforest, large tracts of which are protected within national parks.
Parque Nacional Soberanía is one of the most accessible tropical rainforest preserves
in Latin America, while Isla Barro Colorado is home to the world-renowned
Smithsonian Institute. Both support an exceptional degree of biodiversity and are
easy day-trips from the capital. The quiet town of Gamboa is the embarkation point
for excursions to Barro Colorado and for most tours offering partial transits of the
Canal; it is also the starting point for rainforest hikes and birdwatching outings along
the famous Camino del Oleoducto (Pipeline Road). Three of the area’s national parks
– Soberanía, the smaller adjacent Parque Nacional Camino de Cruces and the larger,
less accessible Parque Nacional Chagres – also offer the opportunity to walk along the
remnants of the historic, partially cobbled Camino de Cruces and the Camino Real.
These paths were carved by mule trains across the forested spine of the isthmus in
colonial times to transport Spain’s plundered treasures from Panama City to the
Caribbean coast.
The Canal reaches the Atlantic at Colón, Panama’s second city, synonymous with
poverty and crime in the minds of many Panamanians, yet compelling and rich in
history, with a strong Afro-Antillean and Afro-Colonial heritage. Either side of Colón
stretch kilometres of Caribbean coastline, peppered with small communities more or
less untainted by tourist development. To the west, along the Costa Abajo, the
formidable remains of the Fuerte San Lorenzo are the country’s most impressive
colonial ruins, still guarding the mouth of the Río Chagres amid untouched tropical
rainforest. To the northeast lies the Costa Arriba, an isolated region of rich coral reefs
and laidback fishing villages, much of which is nominally protected by Parque Nacional
Portobelo, set around the ruins and beautiful natural harbour of the old Spanish port
of Portobelo.
At the Pacific end of the Canal, some two hours by boat from Panama City, lies the
Archipiélago de las Perlas. A former hideout of privateers and pirates and a long-
standing weekend refuge for the capital’s social elite, the archipelago’s translucent
waters and powdered beaches offer a pricey slice of tranquillity.

Transiting the Canal p.95 Portobelo festivals p.115
The Big Ditch p.96 Activities around Portobelo p.116
Wildlife in Parque Nacional Soberanía p.99 Excursions from Isla Grande p.119
Visiting an Emberá community p.104 Day-trips to the Pearl Islands p.122
Safety in Colón p.107 Slaves, pirates and pearls p.123
Building the Panama Railroad p.108 Activities on Isla Contadora p.124

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