The Gamboa Rainforest Reserve is located deep inside Panama’s Soberania National Park, a tropical ecosystem of more than fifty thousand acres. It sits at the meeting of the Chagres River and the Panama Canal, and is home to some truly incredible wildlife. A trip to Panama isn’t complete without a visit to this beautiful reserve! You can explore the rainforest, tour the canal, and visit amazing animal sanctuaries. It is such a unique experience and shouldn’t be missed.
The Gamboa Rainforest Resort is a beautiful property located right on the Panama Canal. They offer resort accommodations as well as tours of the reserve. You can choose to stay on the property for the full experience of a quiet rainforest sanctuary, or you can opt for a day trip to the resort from Panama City or elsewhere. Whether or not you choose to stay overnight, the resort itself is a wonderful experience. The building has a three level atrium with gorgeous views of the national park, along with an outdoor pool, a resort spa, and more than 150 rooms and suites with private balconies. All of the eco-tours and activities within the Gamboa Reserve are booked and facilitated through the resort. The staff members are very knowledgable, and there is a big focus on environmental conservation, as well as ethical and sustainable practices.
We chose to do a day trip to Gamboa during our stay in Panama City. There was plenty of time to fit everything into a single day, and we had a really enjoyable visit. Below we highlight the three tours that we experienced, all of which we highly recommend! They were all informative and entertaining, and offered us some of the most unique travel experiences we’ve ever had. Keep reading for more on each tour, as well as plenty of photos to inspire your trip!
Gatun Lake & Panama Canal Tour
We started our day with a boat tour of Gatun Lake and the Panama Canal. Touring the famous canal was a true bucket list experience, and completely unforgettable! After checking in with the tour desk upon arrival, we were driven in a safari vehicle down to the water. We then climbed into a small boat (just us, our tour guide, and our driver), and set off. For a full hour we explored both the Panama Canal and Gatun Lake, the large artificial lake connected to the canal. Our guide explained to us the history of the canal as well as the construction of the lake, and we saw plenty of large ships passing through. Our boat also took us up to Monkey Island, a small island in the lake that is inhabited by capuchin monkeys. Our tour guide was very knowledgable in pointing out all of the wildlife and we were close enough to get some amazing photos!
Aerial Tram
Our second activity was the aerial tram, a small gondola that transports you 600 metres through the beautiful Panama Rainforest. The views were absolutely stunning, and it felt completely magical to be up in the treetops. Even for someone weary of heights, it was amazing and entirely worth it. There is the possibility to see more monkeys on this tour, as well as many species of birds, and sloths if you’re lucky! The gondola drops you deep in the forest where you can climb up to the observation deck for more incredible views. The tower is 30 metres high and offers unobstructed views of the national park, the Chagres River, the Panama Canal, and the nearby indigenous communities. There was plenty of time to enjoy the look out point and take plenty of photos before making our way back down to the tram, and taking the gondola down to our starting point. This entire tour is about 1.5 hours.
Nature Labs & Sloth Sanctuary
Our last activity was a 1.5 hour tour of the nature labs and Gamboa’s sloth sanctuary, which was eye-opening. We learned so much about the conservation initiatives run by the Pan American Conservation Association, and all of the dangers that the sloth population is currently facing in Panama. Our guide was incredibly knowledgable and offered us a lot of really useful and interesting information. We were able to see some of the rescued sloths in their habitats, eating plants and doing a lot of sleeping. We were able to get close enough to take some incredible photos without disturbing them. In the additional nature labs we saw plenty of butterflies, frogs, and tropical flora. We really enjoyed this as our last activity of the day, and we learned so much about Panama’s unique tropical vegetation.
We highly recommend spending a day (at least!) on the Gamboa Rainforest Reserve. It’s easy to access from Panama City and in our opinion is an absolute must-do while in Panama.
If you’re interested in travelling to Panama, be sure to read our Lesbian Guide to Panama City!
As well, we have a full article on How Lesbian Friendly Panama Is.
Have you already been to the Gamboa Rainforest Reserve? Share your experiences in the comments below!
