Must-see attractions in Panama

  • Biomuseo

    BioMuseo

    Panama City

    Celebrating Panama as the land bridge that has permitted astonishing biodiversity in the region, this world-class museum is a visual feast. Exhibits tell…

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    Parque Nacional Marino Isla Bastimentos

    Isla Bastimentos

    Established in 1988, this 132-sq-km marine park was Panama's first. Protecting 130 islands of the Bocas del Toro archipelago, including the coral-fringed…

  • Museo de Arte Contemporáneo

    Panama City

    This wonderful privately owned museum features the best collection of Panamanian art anywhere, an excellent collection of works on paper by Latin American…

  • Taller Dario López

    Península de Azuero

    One of Panama's top artisans, Dario López has been making colorful masks for folkloric dancers since the 1960s. These days most of his masks and satin…

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    Miraflores Visitors Center

    Panama Canal

    The easiest way to visit the Panama Canal is to head to the Miraflores Visitors Center, just outside Panama City. This modern center features a four-floor…

  • A howler monkey (Alouatta seniculus) is seen in Barro Colorodo island, in the artificial Gatun Lake of the Panama Canal on November 23, 2015. The island was declared a nature reserve on April 17, 1923 by the U.S. government. It was initially administered by the Panama Canal Company, and since 1946 it has been administered by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, forming the Barro Colorado Nature Monument together with five adjacent peninsulas. AFP PHOTO / Rodrigo ARANGUA / AFP / RODRIGO ARANGUA        (Photo credit should read RODRIGO ARANGUA/AFP/Getty Images)

    Finca Los Monos Botanical Garden

    Bocas del Toro Town

    One of the joys of visiting Bocas is touring the 'Monkey Farm' botanical garden a couple of kilometers northwest of the center. Painstakingly carved out…

  • Panama Viejo Ruins, Panama City

    Panamá Viejo

    Panama City

    Founded on August 15, 1519, by Spanish conquistador Pedro Arias de Ávila, the city of Panamá was the first European settlement along the Pacific. For 150…

  • Toucan bird

    Panama Rainforest Discovery Center

    Panamá Province

    Geared toward ecotourism and environmental education, this is an excellent facility for birdwatchers and nature-lovers. Since you are probably here to…

  • Plaza De Francia, Panama, Central America

    Plaza de Francia

    Panama City

    At the tip of the southern point of Casco Viejo, this beautiful plaza pays homage to the French role in the construction of the canal. Its large stone…

  • Keel-Billed Toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus) in profile, Soberania National Park, Panama

    Parque Nacional Soberanía

    Panamá Province

    This 195-sq-km national park is one of the most accessible tropical rainforests in Panama. It extends much of the way across the isthmus, from Limón on…

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    Iglesia de San José

    Panama City

    This Casco Viejo church protects the famous Altar de Oro (Golden Altar), the sole relic salvaged after privateer Henry Morgan sacked Panamá Viejo.

  • Reserva Natural Punta Patiño

    Darién Province

    On the southern shore of the Golfo de San Miguel, this 263-sq-km wildlife reserve is owned by the private conservation group ANCON. It contains species…

  • Canal Museum (Museo de Historia de Panama), Old Quarter.

    Museo del Canal Interoceánico

    Panama City

    This impressive museum is housed in a beautifully restored building that once served as the headquarters for the original French canal company. The Panama…

  • Panama City, Panama, Panama, Central America

    Teatro Nacional

    Panama City

    Built in 1907, the interior of this ornate Casco Viejo theater has been completely restored. It boasts red and gold decorations, a once-magnificent…

  • Río Sambú

    Darién Province

    Traveling the wide and very brown Sambú River is a memorable experience: you'll glide past spectacular mangroves – five of the world's seven known species…

  • Iglesia San Atanasio

    Península de Azuero

    On the east side of Plaza Simón Bolívar, this national treasure was consecrated in 1782, although the foundation stone had been laid more than two…

  • Butterfly Haven

    El Valle

    One of El Valle's top attractions allows you to walk among up to 250 butterflies as they flutter by in a screened 'flight house.' Learn more about these…

  • Bayano Caves

    Darién Province

    On the south side of Lago Bayano, the Bayano Caves are a fun adventure. Cavers wade up Río Tigre though a sculpted Paleolithic cavern that is 850m long…

  • Isla Cañas

    Península de Azuero

    Isla Cañas is one of a handful of places that olive ridley sea turtles nest in high numbers (the others are two beaches on the Pacific side of Costa Rica…

  • Fuerte San Jerónimo

    Portobelo

    Fuerte San Jerónimo, close to the center of Portobelo, was the largest fortress ever built to protect the bay. Some two dozen embrasures with 16 cannons…

  • Playa Blanca

    Portobelo

    A 20-minute, US$45 return boat ride from Portobelo will bring you to this lovely white-sand beach on a tranquil cove surrounded by dense wilderness. It…

  • Playa Larga

    Isla Bastimentos

    This 6km-long beach on the southeast side of the island falls under the protection of the marine park. Hawksbill, leatherback and green sea turtles nest…

  • Red Frog Beach

    Isla Bastimentos

    Small but perfectly formed, Red Frog Beach is named after the rana rojo (strawberry poison-dart frog), an amphibian you're most unlikely to encounter here…

  • Katuma

    Panamá Province

    The third most visited Emberá village in the park – and all the more interesting for that reason alone – is where you'll learn all about the history and…

  • Mirador Perú

    Portobelo

    Atop a hill overlooking much of the bay is a small but well-preserved watchtower called Mirador Perú, which was built at the same time as Fuerte Santiago…

  • Puente del Rey

    Panama City

    Built in 1617, this Panamà Viejo landmark may be the oldest standing bridge in the Americas.

  • Panama City, Panama - 01/25/2019 People walking towards a view point in the Metropolitan Park in Panama City from which you can see the skyline of the city on a nice and sunny summer day.
Parque Natural Metropolitano

    Parque Natural Metropolitano

    Panama City

    On a hill north of downtown, this 265-hectare park protects vast expanses of tropical semideciduous forest within the city limits, and serves as an…

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    Centro Natural Punta Culebra

    Panama City

    Ideal for families, CEM is operated by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI). This informative marine museum features two small aquariums and…

  • Explora Center of Science & Arts

    Panama City

    Mini travelers (and those young at heart) will love this museum dedicated to interactive learning. Six exhibition rooms explore such themes as electricity…

  • Panama, Bocas del Toro, Isla Colon, Playa Bluff.

    Playa Bluff

    Isla Colón

    This lovely beach is pounded by intense waves. Though you wouldn’t want to get into the water here without a board, the soft, yellow sand and palm-fringed…

  • Orange sea stars at Starfish Beach on Isla Colon, Bocas del Toro, Panama

    Boca del Drago

    Isla Colón

    Boca del Drago, in the northwest of Isla Colón, is one of the best beaches on the island, though the surf can be rough at times. Just offshore from the…

  • Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús

    Panama City

    These days only a shell, this 1741 convent and church in Casco Viejo was destroyed in a fire and further damaged in an earthquake but remains a thing of…

  • Parque Recreativo Omar

    Panama City

    The biggest park in the city is filled with children, joggers and the occasional salsa class. It's located in Omar, behind the San Francisco neighborhood…

  • Iglesia y Convento de Santo Domingo

    Panama City

    Iglesia y Convento de Santo Domingo is the best-preserved church of the ruins of Panamá Viejo. The convent dates from the 1570s, though the church was…

  • Iglesia de La Merced

    Panama City

    An example of the baroque style in Panama, this Casco Viejo church was built in 1673 with a facade transferred from Panamá Viejo.

  • Panama Canal Murals

    Panama City

    The story of the monumental effort to build the Panama Canal is powerfully depicted in murals by notable artist William B Van Ingen of New York. The…

  • Refugio de Vida Silvestre Isla Iguana

    Península de Azuero

    This 53-hectare reserve is centered on a deserted island ringed by corals. The water is shallow enough for snorkeling and, as elsewhere in the Pacific,…

  • Museo de Herrera Fabio Rodriquez

    Península de Azuero

    This small museum, housed in a lovely two-story colonial building, contains many well-preserved pieces of pottery dating from 5000 BC until the Spanish…

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