Central America - (Page 16)

panama calling... The Kuna Indians create eye-catching handicrafts. Call of the Wild To visit Panama’s great outdoors, Panama City is a good place to start. In fact, the Metropolitan National Park falls within city limits. Soberania National Park, habitat to more than 500 species of birds and mammals, is under an hour’s drive and it’s also a great place to take a hike along the Pipeline Road—a major destination for serious birdwatchers—or the historic Las Cruces Trail. Also part of the greater watery network formed by the Panama Canal is Chagres National Park, a hilly area of waterfalls, wildlife—from sloths to toucans to monkeys galore—and communities of the indigenous Embera people. The Pan American Highway permits an easy drive (60 miles) to El Valle de Anton, a mountain community nestled in the crater of an extinct volcano. Here, orchids are everywhere, birdwatching is first class, and a canopy tour zips riders high over a lush forest and waterfall. Visitors and residents also fan out to the highlands of Chiriqui Province, the place to visit the Baru Volcano National Park, with panoramic views of both oceans and a concentration of the elusive quetzal bird. Nature is at its most pristine in the Darien C16 August 2010 Province, home to four species of macaws and harpy eagles, as well as exotic animals from jaguars to crocodiles. A week-long cruise aboard the M/V Discovery is one way to dip into the Darien and sample many of Panama’s leading natural sites. Call of the Sea With 100 miles of Caribbean coast and 600 miles along the Pacific, one can imagine that the call of the sea is loud and clear. An hour from Panama City, new resort openings are concentrated along the Pacific coast, and some big names have opened in the last 12 months: the super-luxe Bristol Buenaventura, the nikki Beach Resort & Spa and the all-inclusive Breezes panama Resort & Spa. One of the big draws to Panama’s Pacific waters is its worldclass deep-sea fishing, because more world fishing records have been set and broken in Panama than anywhere else in the world. Island-lovers flock to the Bocas del Toro archipelago for birdwatching, and snorkeling and diving among the reefs and mangroves. At the Bastimentos Island National Park, the biggest thrill is watching recommend.com http://www.recommend.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Central America

Belize
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Nicaragua
Panama

Central America