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-rich primary and secondary forest and is one of the best places in the country to spot a harpy eagle, Panama's national bird. Even if the big bird proves elusive, there's a good chance of seeing everything from three-toed sloths and capybaras, the world's largest rodents, to jaguars.

Some 17km south of El Real, as the lemon-spectacled tanager flies, is the Rancho Frío sector of Parque Nacional Darién. It’s home to Station VIII (sometimes called Pirre Station, not to be confused with the station at the top of Cerro Pirre near Cana). Rare bird species here include the crimson-bellied woodpecker, the white-fronted nunbird and the striped woodhaunter. It's a riveting spot for birdwatchers.

The excellent trail network includes a two-day trek to Cerro Pirre ridge and a one-hour walk through jungle to some cascades; the Cascada del Río Perresénico is about a half-hour away on foot. Neither should be attempted without a guide as they are unmarked – if you get lost out here you’re finished.

Visitors must write in Spanish to Panama City's SENAFRONT about their travel intentions in the Darién and carry photocopies of the letter and their passport with them; these may be examined at checkpoints.

Easily the most remote and exciting place you'll visit in Panama, this coastal settlement with the less-than-enticing name of 'Dead Beach' is well worth a visit for up-close views of a genuine Emberá community, unspeakably beautiful and unspoiled beaches, and long hikes through streams and up hills that will almost certainly reward you with a glimpse of a harpy eagle. But it's not a destination for everyone, requiring a long, uncomfortable and expensive boat ride or an arduous two-day trek through the jungle from Sambú to get to. We can say unequivocally, though: we'd do it again.

Catering to serious birdwatchers, this ecocamp sits in the Reserva Hidrológica Filo del Tallo, a verdant secondary rainforest. Eight spacious, multiroom safari tents with wooden decks are outfitted with comfortable beds, screens, electricity and fans. Each thatched lodging is extremely private, with freestanding bathrooms equipped with open-air hot-water showers that bring the forest and its wildlife that much closer.

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 grow here – deep jungle and, beyond Sambú and Puerto Indio, traditional villages. A trip up the Sambú is a real adventure, something that may not be possible anywhere in the tropics 50 years from now. Even if you traveled deep into the Amazon, you'd be hard-pressed to find such wilderness.