Panama City, Panama this month

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It's been 30 years since I've been there but a tour of the rain forest

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Rain forest is gone by now.

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Rain forest is gone by now.

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Not at all. The canal zone is a national park and the rainforest has been preserved there. It's really more pristine than Costa Rica and the canal zone is BIG. Now, down in the Darien the rainforest is vanishing quickly for raising cattle. But there are still huge tracts preserved all over the country and I'd rate the rainforest in Panama as having more wildlife than in Costa Rica, Panama just doesn't have the tourism infrastructure that Costa Rica does (probably in part due to the US invasion).

From Panama City it's not far to Gamboa (maybe an hour) which has some good rainforest access. There is a hotel there - Gamboa Rainforest Resort that is kinda rundown but which has some nice grounds. There is also a B&B in Gamboa that is mostly used by birders and supposed to be nice. From Gamboa it's a very short distance to the Rainforest Discovery Center which is actually very good. It's also the start of Pipeline Road which is some of the best birding in the world. Manuel Noriega's prison is also nearby and the canal runs right by Gamboa.

You could also stay at the Canopy Tower which is on the way to Gamboa and was a US radar tower that has been converted for ecotourism.



I wouldn't stay there unless you are a serious birder because it's expensive and has tiny rooms with no soundproofing or AC. But it has a hell of a view (you can see Panama City and the canal from the dome level) and good wildlife (sloths and monkeys). You may want to consider a day trip to the tower though, I think they do that, and you can get lunch there with advance notice (I think).

Wow that was a really long post to prove what I meant as a joke wrong.

Not everything’s about you, OP. Get over yourself.

just kidding. I wish I could be helpful in this thread but I’ve never been. Hope it’s s great trip.

Hit La Vela