Everyone knows that Panama is the site of one of the most important shipping routes in the world, and it’s hard to think of the name without thinking ‘Panama Canal’.  However if that’s your only reference, you’re missing a whole lot of fascinating aspects the country has to offer; the Canal is only the most famous.  The fact that it is the connecting link between two continents gives Panama a diversity of flora, fauna and human societies that is unique in the world.

Though it is only about an hour’s drive from Panama City, Lago Bayana is a destination for the most adventurous,   A huge lake created when the Bayano River was dammed in 1976, it is almost pristine with no development to speak of except the dam itself.  You can camp at some spots around the lake in solitary splendor, and there are several fascinating (and bat-filled) caves that can be explored as far as your nerve lasts, preferably with a boat and a guide that can be hired in Panama City.

The tiny fishing village of Boca Chica, near the Costa Rican border is gradually making itself known, chiefly as the best point from which to take a boat to Boca Brava.  This is another mostly undeveloped treasure of an island with some stunning white sand beaches as well as almost 300 species of birds, tribes of monkeys and nesting sea turtles.  It is one of about 25 islands that are all part of the Chiriqui National Marine Park and home to an astounding variety of marine life.

Maybe for some travelers the most alluring aspect ofPanamais the chance to watch the sunrise over  one sea (theCaribbean) and the sunset over another (the Pacific), but try to leave a week or so in between.  There is much more to Panama than most people will ever see, even though tourism is catching up and Panama City is as cosmopolitan as anyone could wish.

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