Monkey Island, Panama

Spend the day exploring the Panama Canal, learning about its history and creation. Visit the museum and make your way to the Chagres River to embark on a boat ride across Gatun Lake. Get picked up at your hotel or other location in Panama City, and journey to the Panama Canal Visitors Center for a detailed explanation about how the canal and famous Miraflores Locks work. Visit the museum to learn more about this important water passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Return to the vehicle and pass Miraflores Lake and the Pedro Miguel Locks as you make your way to the town of Gamboa. Upon arrival at the Chagres River, climb aboard for a scenic boat trip across artificial Gatun Lake. Marvel at the surrounding landscape of the biggest and most important lake in the Panama Canal. Watch the large ships passing through the canal to get a sense of the magnitude of this masterpiece of engineering. Arrive at a group of islands to see different species of animals and monkeys. Return to Panama City and get dropped off at your hotel.

Travel to the Gamboa Marina in an air-conditioned tour vehicle with a guide and the rest of the tour group, before a transfer to a riverboat for a ride on the Chagres River, one of Panama's largest rivers, and head for Monkey Island. Observe the different species of monkeys that live on the island, from white-face monkeys, howler monkeys, and Geoffrey´s tamarinds, while taking some time to snap photos, and learn interesting facts and information about the different species from a knowledgeable guide. Return to the marina and to Panama City, and end the tour with drop-off at the hotel.

Leave the city behind in the morning and head to the Chagres River where you will board a boat for a 2-hour tour in Lake Gatun (once the largest manmade lake in the world) and the Panama Canal! Explore the ins and outs of the nearby bays, search for wildlife, and visit the famous Monkey Island, home of the amazing white faced monkeys! Also, keep an eye out for turtles, crocodiles, caiman, tons of bird life and all kinds of other surprises. Return towards Gamboa, pass the dock and head upstream to the Indian village. Unlike most Indian village tours, this one is authentic! Learn about the local culture, history and crafts. Then, hike along a short trail to see the plants that grow in this area and how the locals use them (practical, artist or medical uses) and see dance that is part of their custom. After visiting the village, return towards Panama City and stop along the way for lunch and arrive at your hotel in the late afternoon.

Begin your tour with hotel pickup at 7:00 AM. Travel west of Panama City to start your exploration of the Panama Canal. Embark on a 90-minute boat tour on the Canal and Gatun Lake. Ride along the canal and get an up-close view of the ships passing through as well as the abundant wildlife along the shores. Visit the famous Monkey Islands, where you can see capuchins, howlers, and tamarins. Then, head 45 minutes north to the Caribbean side of Panama to visit the Agua Clara Visitor Center to see the new expansion locks operating up-close. Observe transiting vessels passing through the Agua Clara Locks on the way to the Pacific or the Atlantic Ocean from a scenic lookout point. Learn first-hand about the various operations of the Panama Canal, the history of its construction, its participation in world markets, and the importance of its watershed. Make your way to a scenic and quiet spot beneath the Gatun Dam and have a picnic lunch at the fork of the French West Diversion Channel and the Chagres River. Next, travel to San Lorenzo National Park, where you can visit a remote rainforest full of flora and fauna, followed by a tour of Fort San Lorenzo. Discover a 400-year-old Spanish fort on a scenic cliff overlooking the Caribbean. Hear about the many attacks by pirates and privateers at one of the most historically important places in Panama. Finally, be returned to your hotel in Panama City.

After a pickup from your hotel, head to the Gamboa Rainforest Resort in the Soberania National Park. From here board a boat and sail on Gatun Lake next to the huge ships that cross the Panama Canal. Admire the fauna and vegetation of the tropical forest, as well as Monkey Island where you have the chance to see white-faced capuchin monkeys and howler monkeys in their natural habitat. Continue on to the Sloth Sanctuary to observe three-toed and two-toed sloths that have been rescued. Learn about the life and habits of the sloths, as well as the efforts for the conservation of the species through the volunteers and specialized guides. From the Sloth Sanctuary, move on to the Butterfly House where you can see the butterflies that live in the rainforest such as the colorful Blue Morpho Butterfly. You will also visit the orchid and frog exhibitions to discover more about the species that live in the rainforest.

After being picked up at your hotel or address in Panama City, set off for the town of Gamboa, in the middle of the Panama Canal. There, at the edge of the Chagres River, take a trip by boat to the Gatun Lake begins, the biggest and most important lake in the Panama Canal, where you will share space with large ships during their traffic across the Panama Canal. Later you arrive at a group of islands to meet 2 monkey species living there. Then, travel along the Chagres River to an Embera indigenous village where you will be welcomed by the community. Learn about their culture and listen to a speech by the chief of the village or nocó. Watch a live performance of traditional music and dance. Finally, enjoy the view of the tropical rainforest and the canal on your way back to the hotel.

Begin your tour with hotel pickup in central Panama City. Travel to Panama Canal north to the town of Gamboa, where the Chagres River meets the canal. Ride along the waters of the Panama Canal right next to the ships passing through on their way to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Then, head to Gatun Lake, a large artificial lake created in 1907. Cruise around islands created during the canal construction and see the abundant wildlife on its shores. Also visit the famous Monkey Islands where you can see capuchins, howlers, and tamarins up-close in their natural habitat. Once you finish with the canal and Monkey Island boat tour (around 90 minutes), travel to a unique spot with views of the Panama Canal and enjoy a traditional Panamanian breakfast. After breakfast, enjoy a walk in Soberania National Park. Here, experience nature in one of the most biodiverse rain forests in the world. The length of the walk and the type of trail will depend on the physical capabilities of the group.

Begin your tour with hotel pickup. Follow the Panama Canal north to the town of Gamboa, where the Chagres River meets the canal. Begin your 90-minute cruise from a boat on the waters of the canal and Gatun Lake, riding along the canal near the ships passing through. Enjoy an up-close view of the abundant wildlife on the shores. Visit the famous Monkey Islands where you can see capuchins, howlers, and tamarins. Once you finish your canal and lake boat ride, head 1-hour northeast to the rugged and remote Chagres National Park. Once you arrive at Puerto Corotu on the banks of Lake Alajuela, the indigenous Embera people will be waiting to take you up the Chagres River aboard their version of a motorized dugout canoe. From the canoe, witness pristine rain forest that is protected as part of the Panama Canal watershed. Discover one of the most biologically diverse national parks in the world, home to jaguars, harpy eagles, tapirs, monkeys, sloths, and hundreds of bird species. Arrive at the indigenous village where the hosts will be waiting. Learn about the local way of life with a cultural presentation and take the opportunity to explore the village. Enjoy a light lunch of fried fish, plantains, and fresh fruit prepared by the locals. Browse for traditional handicrafts and receive traditional temporary tattoos, which will fade away after a few days. Hop back in the canoe and begin your journey back to Panama City.