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Panama 2026

 

My wife and I went to Panama for five weeks starting in late January 2026 for our annual “get out of the Canadian winter” vacation.

We stayed in an Airbnb in Coronado which is a resort town on the Pacific coast about 85km from Panama City. It is popular with expats and has a number of good restaurants, a nice Waterfallbeach, a couple of good supermarkets and other amenities including nice weather.

Coronado is located in Panama’s Arco Seco (Dry Arch), a warm and relatively arid zone that extends along the Pacific coast and provides the nice weather which makes it so popular. Just inside the main entrance into Coronado is a conservation area that preserves the unique tropical dry forest ecosystem which is almost extinct in the country. The Eugene Eisenmann Trail is a loop through this conservation area. Some photos of Coronado and the Trail

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El Valle de Antón is a town in central Panama which is situated in the crater of an extinct volcano and surrounded by mountains and cloud forest. It is about 45km from Coronado so easy to get to. I went there twice, once for lunch at a restaurant called Fuego that had been recommended to us. Fuego is situated in the Hotel La Compañía del Valle. The hotel has an amazing collection of outdoor art. I went a second time to do an ATV tour on trails and roads surrounding the toCojoneswn.Photos of Art and ATV

We took an afternoon drive to the Los Cajónes de Chame whichisa unique canyon on the Chame River which was created by erosion through the sedimentary rock. It has high cliffs, rock pools and small waterfalls. Photos Los Cajónes

Gamboa is a town situated at the confluence of the Chagres River and the Panama Canal and serves as a central hub for visiting Soberanía National Park and Gatun Lake. Gatun Lake is a massive artificial reservoir that formsa 33km section of the Panama Canal and supplies the water required to operate the canal's lock systems. Guided boat trips on Gatun Lake are good for wildlife spotting and closeup views of the ships passinTurtleg through the canal. Photos of Gatun Lake wildlife

I visited the Metropolitan Natural Park (Parque Natural Metropolitano) which is a wildlife refuge and protected area in Panama City. It is more than 232 hectares in size and includes areas of both dry and humid tropical forests. There are numerous birds, vertebrate animals, snakes, insects, amphibians and plant species including trees, creepers, flowers and epiphytes. It also has a couple of lookouts that provide a spectacular panoramic view of the city. It was interesting to see so much biodiversity within such a major city. Photos of Metropolitan Natural Park Panama City