Panama: Darién Lowlands

Darién Province in far eastern Panama is one of the wildest and most remote corners of the isthmus. Largely roadless and with steep mountains cloaked in dense vegetation, the region holds its secrets well. With the development of the new Canopy Camp Darién, visiting naturalists finally have an accessible lodge from which to base their explorations. Although the lodge sits among secondary forest and clearings, we’ll be able to access more extensive lowland forests in the large Embera Reserve. We’ll stay in comfortable safari-style permanent tents on raised platforms, each with en suite bathroom facilities and electricity. We’ll spend our week here walking along the forest trails and road systems near the very eastern end of the Pan-American Highway. The clearing around the camp is surrounded by excellent forest and dense thickets of Heliconia plants, along with their attendant Pale-bellied and Rufous-breasted Hermits. In the early morning we’ll see an array of parrots and toucans perching in the surrounding trees and enjoy a chorus of raucous birdsong. We’ll concentrate especially on locating many of the true specialties of far eastern Panama: Spectacled Parrotlet, Gray-cheeked Nunlet, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Golden-green, Spot-breasted, and Red-rumped Woodpeckers, the enigmatic Sapayoa, Double-banded Graytail, Black Antshrike, Barred Puffbird, One-colored Becard, Golden-headed Manakin, White-eared Conebill, Orange-crowned Oriole, and Black Oropendola. If there is a known active nest site, as has often been the case in recent years, we will also venture out in a quest to find Panama’s national bird; the awe-inspiring Harpy Eagle. Because the area is only just beginning to open up to ecotourists, new discoveries are being made every month. Even for seasoned regional travelers, the Darién lowlands hold a wealth of new birds.

NOTE: This tour can be taken in conjunction with our Panama: Bocas del Toro and the Western Highlands and Panama: Fall at the Canopy Tower tours.