Parita and the Azuero Towns

The Azuero was settled early and thoroughly and the small towns of the peninsula kept their colonial fabric better than almost anywhere else in Panama. Parita is the most intact: a grid of single-storey houses with tiled roofs around a plaza, and a church of 1656 whose bell tower sits over the entrance rather than beside it, with a gilded baroque altar inside and a workshop in the town that has restored religious statues for decades. La Villa de Los Santos has the church where independence from Spain was first declared. Pesé, Ocú and Macaracas each hold their own festivals and each has a church worth the stop.

What you actually see

• Parita's church - 1656, with the bell tower over the entrance.
• The gilded altars - baroque woodwork in several of the town churches.
• The restoration workshop - religious statues repaired in Parita for decades.
• The town grids - single-storey tiled houses around colonial plazas.

When to go

December to April is the dry season. Churches open at set hours and close over the middle of the day. Each town has its own patron festival, so there is usually something on somewhere on the peninsula. Carnival closes everything else.

Honest expectations

These are small quiet towns with very little visitor infrastructure and few places to eat; a car is essential. Churches are locked outside service and opening hours, which catches people out. There is no signage or interpretation in English. It is four hours from Panama City.

Nearby

Chitré is the base; La Villa, Guararé and Las Tablas are south.