Metropolitan Natural Park

Very few capital cities have tropical forest inside them, and Panama City has two hundred hectares of it: a park of semi-deciduous dry forest on hills between the city and the canal, with trails climbing to a viewpoint where the skyscrapers, the canal entrance and the Bridge of the Americas are all visible at once from under the trees. The Smithsonian installed a construction crane here in the 1990s to reach the canopy for research, one of the first of its kind, and it is still used. Sloths, agoutis, titi monkeys, coatis and around two hundred and fifty bird species live within a short walk of the financial district.

What you actually see

• The Cerro Mono Tití viewpoint - skyline, canal and bridge from a forest hill.
• The canopy crane - a research crane reaching the treetops.
• Titi monkeys and sloths - inside the city boundary.
• The dry forest - a rare surviving stand of the Pacific forest type.

When to go

December to April is the dry season, when the forest drops its leaves and wildlife is easier to see. Early morning is best for birds and coolest for the climb. The park closes in the late afternoon.

Honest expectations

The trails are short and the climb is steep and hot, with the city noise audible throughout. Wildlife is there but the forest is dense. The crane is a research installation and cannot be climbed by visitors. Two hours covers the park.

Nearby

The banking district is ten minutes; the causeway and Biomuseo are twenty.