Contact us: +507 6909 6682
CULTURE AT GLANCE
To the heart of Panama’s rich history and traditions
This educational tour offers an immersive experience starting with a tour of Panama City, participants will explore the ruins of Old Panama, the historic Casco Antiguo district, and the Panama Canal's Miraflores Visitor Center. The journey continues to Anton Valley and the Azuero Peninsula, where visitors will learn about traditional crafts such as Carnival Diablicos masks and Polleras, Panama’s national dress. A highlight is the visit to an Embera Indian village, where travelers will experience indigenous customs and enjoy a scenic canoe ride through the Chagres National Park.
Tour Description
Day 1 – Panama City
On your arrival to Panama City, you will be met by an Inside Panama Tours representative and transferred to your Hotel in Panama City.
Day 2 – Panama City & Miraflores Visitor Center
(B, L)
Today our adventure will start at 09:00 am on a Full Day City Tour.
​
We’ll start our tour visiting the ruins of Old Panama, which was the first city built on the Pacific Ocean shore in 1519 by Pedro Arias Davila, a Spanish Governor, and then destroyed in 1671 by the greed of pirate Henry Morgan who set it on fire.
​
Then we’ll head about 8 kilometers and reach the Casco Antiguo and enjoy walking along alleys and colonial buildings, ruins and streets of stone, museums and antique churches, where three styles of construction are combined: Spanish, French and Italian. A stop at the folk art market at the old YMCA building will be our following stop, just before having lunch at a Panamanian restaurant.
​
After lunch, we’ll reach our final destination of the day, The Miraflores Visitor Center, where visitors have the opportunity to observe transiting vessels from a distance of only a few meters and learn firsthand about the various operations of the Panama Canal, the history of its construction, its participation in the world markets, and the importance of its watershed.
Back to our Hotel.
Day 3 – Anton Valley & Azuero Península (2 nights)
(B, L, D)
Pick up at 8:00 AM
​
Located only two hours from Panama City via the Panamerican highway, Anton Valley rises 600 meters above sea level with a fresh and agreeable climate. Here you can spend a day enjoying productive ecological activities such as: visiting El Macho waterfall and Canopy Adventure* (optional), the petroglyphs, El Nispero plant nursery and zoo, the thermal water wells and, if it’s a Sunday, the great craft market.
​
*Canopy Adventure (optional): offers the intrepid tourist the opportunity to ascend to the top of the trees and observe a rain forest from a perspective previously available only to a select few researchers and photographers. This is accomplished by modifying techniques originally developed by “spelunkers” (cavers) and canyon rappellers.
​
We’ll continue our journey to the Azuero Peninsula and to Herrera Province. We’ll spend the following 2 nights at Chitre from where we’ll be travelling to La Arena & Los Santos to learn about the real Panamanian culture.
​
We’ll visit a clay workshop to learn how to do the famous Carnival Diablicos Masks, a bakery shop, and how to do the Polleras, the Panamanian national dress for women.
Day 5 – Panama City
(B)
Return to Panama City
Day 6 – Embera Indian Village Tour
(B, L)
You’ll be picked up at the Hotel at 9AM and transferred to El Corotu on the shores of the Madden Lake, which is the main reservoir of drinking water for the cities of Panama and Colon, as well as a supplier of 40% of the water required for the operation of the Panama Canal.
​
Here, we board a motorized piragua (dugout canoe) and travel up the Chagres River to an Embera indigenous village.
The boat journey takes us through the rainforest of the 320,000-acre Chagres National Park, which is the largest of the National Parks protecting the Panama Canal Watershed. Once at the indigenous community, we’ll learn about Embera customs and their relationship with nature.
​
There will be handcrafts available for sale and we’ll have a chance to be painted with the traditional jagua, a natural dye the Embera use to adorn their bodies.
​
We will have lunch (fish & fried green plantain) prepared by the Embera and then we’ll visit the nearby waterfall where we can take a dip in the crystal-clear waters of the Chagres River.
Day 7 – Departure
(B)
This morning you will be transferred to Tocumen Airport for your departure flight back home.
Included: all lodging, meals as specified on the itinerary (B= breakfast, L= lunch, BL= box lunch, D=dinner), private transportation on a/c minivan, driver-guide; entrance fees where needed & taxes.
Not included: International airfare, departure taxes ($40 per person), meals not specified in the itinerary, alcoholic beverages, tips, extras in hotels (laundry, telephone calls, room service, etc.)