Sunday, August 17, 2008
Day out in El Valle, Panama
We were staying in the popular town of Coronado, on the Pacific coast of Panama. From here there are several intersesting trips along the coast and into the mountains. We drove about an hour into the mountains to a little local town called El Valle. As we climbed the steep twisting road we noticed that it was much cooler than at the coast. El Valle also gets a lot more rain than the coast due to its elevation.
El Valle is 120km from Panama City, traveling West along the Pan American highway, it is signposted to the right after the town of San Carlos. The drive alone was worth the trip as the views from the mountaintops were quite breathtaking. There were many local cafes and restaurants along the way to suit all tastes and budgets. There were also fruit stands and pottery displays to entice visitors to stop and buy.
Nestling in the mountains in the province of Cocle, El Valle is a resort town with many attractions. Popular with ex-Pats as a retirement community, it nonetheless retains its natural Panamanian roots. There are many beautiful villas and country homes here, owned by wealthy Panamanian city-dwellers. The gardens are full of huge trees which are covered in brilliant flowers - reds, purple, bright yellow, white and pink.
The town is located on the site of an extinct volcano, which has endowed the area with hot springs and fertile soil, hence the wide range of exotic flowers and vegetables grown here.
Arriving in the town itself, we visited the local Hotel, which boasts an excellent restaurant “La Casa de Lourdes”. Sitting on the terrace overlooking the gardens and fishpond is a truly relaxing, surreal experience and we had a wonderful lunch there.
The town had some local supermarkets, small shops selling crafts and tourist souvenirs, plenty of bars and places to eat.
Heading further into town we spotted a picture of a parrot on a sign, the only indication to turn right for the local Nispero Zoo and plant nursery. For $2 entrance fee, we happily wandered through the gardens enjoying the many exotic birds, monkeys and wildlife which live there including the rare golden frog. Also on show was the “Flower of the Holy Spirit”, a rare orchid, which is Panama’s native flower.
For the more adventurous there was the Canopy adventure, where guests can fly above the jungle along a series of cables, platforms and pulleys. Another popular attraction was the mud baths – a cleansing if somewhat messy experience, and definitely not one for the photo album! We settled rather tamely for browsing the market which had beautiful local crafts at local prices, such as wooden plaques handpainted with bright toucans, parrots and hibiscus. There were plenty of wonderful plants and orchids on sale, no doubt plucked from the local hillside and stuffed into plastic bags, and the usual handmade jewelry and pottery. There were also many fresh vegetables and fruits for sale at low prices.
Close to the market was a beautiful Catholic church dedicated to St Joseph. It is the focus of local life for the many festivals, including Easter (Santa Semana) and Christmas. Both occasions have processions along the streets leading to the Church.
It was a very friendly and interesting way to see native Panama and was very different from the bustling shops and streets of Panama city.
El Valle is 120km from Panama City, traveling West along the Pan American highway, it is signposted to the right after the town of San Carlos. The drive alone was worth the trip as the views from the mountaintops were quite breathtaking. There were many local cafes and restaurants along the way to suit all tastes and budgets. There were also fruit stands and pottery displays to entice visitors to stop and buy.
Nestling in the mountains in the province of Cocle, El Valle is a resort town with many attractions. Popular with ex-Pats as a retirement community, it nonetheless retains its natural Panamanian roots. There are many beautiful villas and country homes here, owned by wealthy Panamanian city-dwellers. The gardens are full of huge trees which are covered in brilliant flowers - reds, purple, bright yellow, white and pink.
The town is located on the site of an extinct volcano, which has endowed the area with hot springs and fertile soil, hence the wide range of exotic flowers and vegetables grown here.
Arriving in the town itself, we visited the local Hotel, which boasts an excellent restaurant “La Casa de Lourdes”. Sitting on the terrace overlooking the gardens and fishpond is a truly relaxing, surreal experience and we had a wonderful lunch there.
The town had some local supermarkets, small shops selling crafts and tourist souvenirs, plenty of bars and places to eat.
Heading further into town we spotted a picture of a parrot on a sign, the only indication to turn right for the local Nispero Zoo and plant nursery. For $2 entrance fee, we happily wandered through the gardens enjoying the many exotic birds, monkeys and wildlife which live there including the rare golden frog. Also on show was the “Flower of the Holy Spirit”, a rare orchid, which is Panama’s native flower.
For the more adventurous there was the Canopy adventure, where guests can fly above the jungle along a series of cables, platforms and pulleys. Another popular attraction was the mud baths – a cleansing if somewhat messy experience, and definitely not one for the photo album! We settled rather tamely for browsing the market which had beautiful local crafts at local prices, such as wooden plaques handpainted with bright toucans, parrots and hibiscus. There were plenty of wonderful plants and orchids on sale, no doubt plucked from the local hillside and stuffed into plastic bags, and the usual handmade jewelry and pottery. There were also many fresh vegetables and fruits for sale at low prices.
Close to the market was a beautiful Catholic church dedicated to St Joseph. It is the focus of local life for the many festivals, including Easter (Santa Semana) and Christmas. Both occasions have processions along the streets leading to the Church.
It was a very friendly and interesting way to see native Panama and was very different from the bustling shops and streets of Panama city.
Labels: El Valle, Golden frog, Market, Panama, Zoo
# posted by Your travel girl @ 10:32 AM 
Subscribe to Comments [Atom]
