Our day tour will start in Panama city at approx 8am. The bus will then take the new highway to the Caribbean province of Colon and home to the famous Gatun Locks. We take a guided tour of the locks, where we get up close and personal with the inner workings of these impressive feats of engineering. If you are lucky you will get to see some of the largest vessels navigating this narrow passage. Unlike the Mira Flores locks located in the city, the Gatun Locks allow to vehicles to drive across the canal over the back of the locks so you can get a real feel for the size of these vast locks.
The tour will then make its way to Fort San Lorenzo on the Caribbean coast. Along the route we pass by the remnants of the early French effort to dredge a canal and an American ghost town from the times when the canal zone was considered part of the USA. We then descend into the dense Panamanian jungle where natural beauty takes over from the man made structures of the Gatun Locks.
Perched on the cliffs of the Caribbean sea, Fort San Lorenzo occupies an impressive position on the headland of the Rio Chagres. The fort built around the mid-1500′s served as the unsackable vanguard for Spanish Panama’s treasure stores, until the infamous captain (some would say pirate), defeated San Lorenzo’s defenses before continuing on to sack Panama City and generally wreak havoc across the country. The tour will guide you around the ruins giving you an insight into its rich and violent history. You’ll be amazed at the beauty of San Lorenzo, and the amazing feat of building this fortress looking out over the ocean. This is one of the least visited touristy attractions in Panama, and akso one of it’s best kept secrets. Fuerte San Lorenzo is well worth a visit.
If time allows we’ll head inland for a forest walk through Parque Nacional Soberanía This protected stretch of tropical jungle is a safe haven for a vast variety of birds, animals, and reptiles which once roamed throughout the country.
- Air conditioned bus
- Tour of Gatun Locks
- Passage over the Gatun Lock
- Forest drive to San Lorenzo Fort
- Tour of San Lorenzo Fort
- If time allows a forest walk in Gamboa (Sobernia Noational Park)