Outdoor Adventures

Boquete well deserves its reputation as one of the premier tourist hot-spots in Panama. Incredible weather, lush rainforests, world-class coffee plantations and gorgeous mountain views attract Panamanians and foreigners alike.

Over the past nine months, we've taken a number of hikes on our own and paid for guided tours as well, particularly when our college-aged son has come to visit. Easily the most spectacular was the guided trek to the top of Volcan Baru, the tallest mountain in Panama at 3,474 meters (11,398 feet), and twelfth highest peak in Central America.

The town of Boquete lies in a valley at the foot of Volcan Baru, which last erupted in 1550, or 472 years ago. A side note, we took a geologic tour of the valley led by Paul Myers, a retired University of Wisconsin professor, who lives in the area. Myers says that while this volcano usually erupts every 400 years or so, we'll all have plenty of warning.

Top of Volcan Baru at sunrise

Although some very fit hikers attempt to climb the volcano from the bottom, we paid an experienced, native guide to drive a modified 4x4 truck up the insanely rock-filled path (I'd hesitate to call it a road) almost to the top. Our guide picked us up at 3:30 a.m. for the roughly two-hour drive. Near the top we got out and hiked in the freezing cold for about 20 minutes to the peak, where we watched the sun rise.

On a clear day you can see both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans from the peak of Volcan Baru. The sunrise and views were absolutely breathtaking, and we met travelers from Europe who had come specifically to hike this volcano. Shout out to the bilingual folks at Boquete Outdoor Adventures for top-notch guides.

Hiking trails abound through the rainforests surrounding Boquete, and many trails pass by spectacular waterfalls. We've been on some well-maintained trails with steps and handrails, and some overgrown trails that require a GPS map to find. And because of the incredible variety of birds, animals, flowers and plants, we've downloaded a few apps to our phones to help identify the more interesting species.

Waterfall hike

Within a couple hours driving distance, we've jumped off canyon walls into the river at Los Cangilones de Gualaca, and soaked in the natural thermal pools of the Caldera Hot Springs. We took our son zip-lining over the rainforest canopy at Boquete Tree Trek, high up in the mountains. While there we took a guided 4.5 km hike where we crossed six different hanging bridges suspended between the mountains.

And after all that, we still haven't exhausted all the tourist activities in the area. We're told the upcoming rainy season is the perfect time to try whitewater rafting!