Pipeline Road
Deep forest.
RB Photo — CC BY 2.0 · Katja Schulz from Washington, D. C., USA — CC BY 2.0 · Katja Schulz from Washington, D. C., USA — CC BY 2.0
A vast rainforest on the east bank of the Panama Canal, less than an hour from the city, protecting the river basin that feeds the canal with water. It is one of the world's best-known birding spots, with hundreds of species recorded. Its most famous trail is Pipeline Road (Camino del Oleoducto), a long flat dirt track deep in the forest, cut during the Second World War for an oil pipeline, where birders have set records for species seen in a single day: toucans, trogons, woodpeckers, hummingbirds and sometimes the rare harpy eagle. The forest also holds howler, capuchin and tamarin monkeys, sloths and coatis. Shorter trails include the Camino de Cruces on an old colonial road and the Plantation trail. On its edge lies the small town of Gamboa on the Chagres River. The best time is dawn and early morning. Carry water and insect repellent, and stay on the trails. Never feed or touch wild animals, and watch them from a distance.
Deep forest.
Toucans and trogons.
On the Chagres.
On the canal's east bank near Gamboa, about 40 minutes from the city
It is one of the world's best birding spots, where records for species seen in a single day have been set.