Panama, a journey through the Darién and San Blas

PANAMA CITY
Discovery of the ruins and museum of “Panama La Vieja”, the first city founded by the Spanish in 1519 (Mirador entrance included).

The colonial district known as Casco Antiguo (designated a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1980). A walk through the streets of this striking colonial quarter: visits to several churches from the colonial era, Plaza de Francia (with a sweeping view over modern Panama City) and Plaza Bolívar. Lunch.

Visit to the Panama Canal Museum, which traces the history of the construction of this engineering marvel.

Visit to the Miraflores Locks, one of the three lock systems of the Panama Canal, located just 20 minutes from the capital. A visitor centre has recently been built for your comfort, allowing you to observe and understand this feat of 20th-century engineering. You will have a front-row view of cruise liners and the massive cargo ships known as Panamax passing through.

THE TRANSOCEANIC CANAL
Started in 1881 by the Frenchman Ferdinand de Lesseps, construction of the Panama Canal caused more than 20,000 deaths (from yellow fever and malaria, both now eradicated). Work resumed in 1904 under the United States with more than 75,000 workers, this time using a lock system to avoid excavating too deep. The first ship crossed the Panama Canal on August 15, 1914. Cut through lush tropical vegetation, its locks are massive, and Lake Gatún, created for the project, has since become a natural refuge.

You will embark on an experience at the heart of 20th-century engineering. For the partial crossing, you will be transferred to Flamenco Marina, then driven by bus to the Port of Gamboa to board the boat. You will pass through the famous Culebra Cut (or Gaillard Cut), the narrowest point of the Canal, then successively through two of the three lock systems — Pedro Miguel and Miraflores — before arriving in Panama Bay.

THE DARIÉN
A dense tropical jungle, the Darién is Panama’s most isolated and least developed province. Faced with nature’s warning signs — the alarming thinning of the ozone layer, the disappearance of rare species, soil depletion — humankind seems to be waking up to the need to protect the environment for its own sake and for future generations. Ironically, the famous Pan-American Highway, meant to symbolize cooperation between two nations (Panama and Colombia), appears to have come to a definitive halt at Yaviza. Let us hope it stays that way, and that Panamanian and Colombian authorities come to realize that the two peoples can also draw closer through a shared mission: preserving the finest wildlife and flora of the Americas.

The ties we have built with indigenous tribes allow us to offer you privileged moments in the most remote corners of the forest, and to discover its unique flora and fauna.

THE SAN BLAS ARCHIPELAGO
Amid these small coral islands, many indigenous Kuna communities have preserved their ancestral traditions: brightly coloured clothing, simple dwellings, and distinctive craftsmanship. Fiercely proud of their independence, Kuna women wear their traditional dress at all times — blouses with puffed sleeves cinched by a mola belt, arms and legs wrapped in colourful beads, and gold jewellery.

Summary:
– 4 nights in Panama City
– 1 night at Dosi Lodge
– 1 night at Filo del Tallo
– 1 night with the Wounaan people
– 2 nights at Yandup Lodge