With more than 970 species of birds (including 12 endemic and 122 migratory species) and with 45% of the country covered with tropical rainforest with easy access and few visitors, Panama is the new choice for your tropical vacation.   

This abundance is due to Panama’s unique location as the 24-mile wide isthmus that has connected, for at least 3 million years, North and South America.  As such, it is the bridge of life for plants and animals for the western hemisphere.

Imagine--Panama is the size of Minnesota, and it hosts more bird species than do the United States and Canada combined   For many years, the Panama Canal, Noriega, and Roberto “Hands of Stone” Duran were the international icons associated with the word “Panama.”  And these icons protected one of the natural wonders of the world.

However, for the indigenous Cuevas, the word “Panama” means “abundance” of fish, butterflies, and trees.  The place where today the city of Panama is located enjoys such a richness of fish that the indigenous inhabitants of the area named it “Panama” which means “abundance of fish.”  The name was later used for this part of Central America.

Panama: land of abundance   Nobody Here But the Birds- New York Times , April 2002 Articule on birding in the Panama Canal Rainforest: "This unlikely setting (Achiote Road) is the prime birding site in Panama, where more than 340 species are counted during the annual 24-hour Atlantic Christmas Bird Count.

Ken got out of the bus saying he wanted to see the spot-crowned barbet, which would be a first for him, and within minutes one obediently flew into a tree across the road. There were mealy parrots, orange-chinned parakeets, a flock of more than 100 swallowtail kites, two white hawks fighting overhead, a whole family of howler monkeys — a constantly changing show."

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