Azuero Peninsula: The Upcoming Rural Playland: Culture, Sun and Nature

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Jutting out prominently on Panama’s southern coast is the Azuero peninsula. This off-the-beaten-track rural area is cherished by Panamanians as the cradle of their Spanish heritage and folkloric traditions. Covering the provinces of Herrera, Los Santos and Veraguas, its natural attractions include beautiful beaches, soft rolling hills and in Veraguas towering coastal mountains. Sportfishing, surfing, diving and snorkeling are simply world- class.

Azuero Peninsula is one of the last parts of Panama being “discovered” by tourists and investors but it is being discovered big-time-- a small roster of celebrities including Hollywood movie stars and America’s rich and famous who are buying large tracts of land as nature preserves, for exclusive getaways and investment. It already has one upscale residential resort community, Azueros and sucn projects are being planned.
Old-country lifestyle in the Azuero countryside is largely unchanged since the turn of the century. Visitors enjoy the way life slows down as if one were traveling back in time. People are friendly and prices are cheap.

Azuero is most famous for its rich historical culture, including lively festivals and traditional religious celebrations dating back to Spanish colonial times. Many of small towns were founded in colonial times have their own 17th-18th century churches. Azueros is also home to Panama’s best Carnaval celebration- a colorful, wild yet friendly event in Las Tablas. Nearly all the exquisite hand embroidered “pollera” dresses Panamananian women don for festivals and parties are made by local artisans in Azueros as well as most “Panama hats” . Azueros is also the site of Panama’s richest archeological excavations with remains dating back 11,000 years-the earliest found in Central America.

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Modern life has very much arrived in the two principal cities, Chitre and Los Santos both connected to the Panamerican highway, by the excellent National Highway (Carretera Nacional). Here the modern and the traditional worlds comfortably mix -you’ll see cowboys on horseback and businessman in SUVs talking intensely on cell phones. Chitre is the place to stay or shop if you want modern comforts- conveniences like large grocery stores, movie theaters and 3 star hotels.

Getting There:
You can fly to Chitre and Pedasi with Air Panama-about a 40 minute flight. Since December 1st Air Panama offers flights on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, round-trip for $126. By car, the roads are excellent- take the Panamerican highway, turn off at Divisa and head down the Peninsula on the excellent National Highway. It’s 4 hours to Chitre and another hour and a half to Pedasi for example. If you fly, you can also rent a car in Chitre from Hertz. You can also take a bus from Panama City’s Albrook Bus Station Terminal- the fare is $7.

Getting Around:
Once you get there, you can get around by taxi (taxis run around $1-2 in the cities) and by bus, since the National Highway runs through or close to most attractions. Longer rides can be amicably negotiated with a taxi driver.

WHAT TO DO:
Isla Iguana:This island is a veritable natural wonderland- a national wildlife refuge right off the coast near Pedasi, it has the best snorkeling in Panama and excellent diving. It lies in the biggest and oldest coral reef in the Gulf of Panama--35 acres of coral reefs with 13 eastern coral species and an amazing 200 fish species. Humpback whales can be seen around the island from June to November. Isla Iguana also has giant iguanas scurrying, of course and it’s the yearly nesting site of the 4-foot Carey sea turtle. Birders will enjoy the fact that they don’t have to go all the way to the Galapagos to see the largest colony in the region of magnificent frigate birds, with their puffed red chests.
To go vist the Island, you need to go with a tour operator or rent a boat which will drop you off and pick you up. Inquire at Pedasi’s Dive Shop or the IPAT center (National Tourism Office).

Carnaval Celebrations in Las Tablas : colorful, friendly yet quite wild.
World Class surfing at Venao Beach in Los Santos and at Catalina Beach in Veraguas.
World-Class sports fishing : off the Veraguas Coast near Coiba Island and at Pedasi in Los Santos.
Nature Tours of Coiba Island: The most nature rich and pristine national marine park in the Americas. If you are a nature lover, Coiba Island is not to be missed. For tours: Ancon Expeditions. For more information see our Coiba Island Destination page.
Sea turtle observation at Isla de Canas: Thousands of sea turtles can be viewed both nesting and hatching. Ask a Panamainfo tour operator about special seasonal packages.
Local Fairs and Festivities
Carnaval Celebrations in Las Tablas. This is the big one. The celebrations are wild yet friendly, colorful, and fun night and day. It’s impossible to get hotel reservations anything less than a year in advance. But you can go for a day trip, stay in a nearby city or if you are lucky stay in the home of some Panamanian friends.

Other festivals:

• Patron Saint Sebastian of Ocú Festivities - January
• Carnavals – Entire region- the biggest in Las Tabla and Los Santos – February
• Manito Festival - Ocú -August
• Holy Week - Entire region – April
• International Azuero Fair - Los Santos Villa – April and May
• Corpus Christi - Los Santos Villa - June
• Patron Saint John the Baptist - Chitré – June
• La Pollera and Patron Saint Librada Festival - Las Tablas – July

Museums and Cathedrals: In Chitre, the small anthropology and natural history museum called Museo de Herrera is the best in the region and worth a visit. It has pre-Colombian artifacts and pottery dating back to 5,000 B.C. and an exhibit of local folkloric costumes.
In Chitre’s town square is Iglesia San Juan Bautista with magnificent stained-glass windows and teak ceilings flanked by walls lined with statues of saints.
Another Colonial Art museum six miles northwest of Chitre, right off the Carretera Nacional in the town of Parita with artifacts from the 17th to 18th centuries including a statue of the Madonna. Another attraction is an18th-century church, Iglesia de Santo Domingo de Guzman,unique for a bell-tower which hangs directly over the front door.

Great Handicrafts Shopping in Azueros Small Towns

La Arena: Just four miles from Chitre. La Arena is famous for these clay pottery and handicrafts which are displayed everywhere in small shops and in front of peoples homes. They have been crafted the same way for centuries. La Arena produces the famous colorful paper mache carnival masks ( tourists snap these up) , handcrafted leather and wood furniture.

Parita: This is carnival mask headquarters as hometown of Panama’s most famous mask-maker- Darido Lopez. Visit him and his world-famous folkloric festival masks at his house right on the Carretera Nacional-you’ll see the sign out in front
Ocu: Named for its Panama hats, which are unique in design and made only by the women. Housewives create and sell beautiful polleras each with their own unique embroidery stitch and exquisite laces and embroidered clothes.

WHERE TO STAY:
Hotel Versailles in Chitre- Attractive 3 Star Hotel and an Excellent Value.
La Playita: Lovely cabins, a gorgeous beach and within walking distance of top surfing beach, Venao.

See below for hotel listings.