Panama’s Spectacular Landscapes: 8 Natural Wonders From the Mountains to the Sea

Panama landscapes · From the mountains to the sea

Panama rose from the sea about 3.5 million years ago. The sea still redraws it every day.

A volcano where you can see two oceans, islands wrapped in coral, mangroves that flood twice a day and beaches where sea turtles arrive by the thousands. Here are Panama’s spectacular landscapes, one by one, and where to see each of them.

On a clear morning at the top of Volcan Baru, the highest point in Panama, you can see the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea at the same time. Then drive down to the Pacific coast, and the sea starts playing tricks on you.

In the Gulf of Montijo, in Veraguas, the water rises and falls up to 6 meters twice a day. Roots, sandbars and whole beaches appear and disappear. On the Caribbean side of the same country, the tide barely moves.

That is Panama in a nutshell: a narrow strip of land between two oceans, small enough to cross in a day and wild enough to hold almost every landscape of the tropics. But the best ones don’t show up from the highway. You have to come by water.

Panama Landscape Facts

Seven numbers that explain why such a small country looks so different from one hour to the next.

What Are the Main Geographical Features of Panama?

Panama’s main geographical features are its mountain spine (the Talamanca range and the Central Cordillera), two very different coasts, more than 1,500 islands, and the lowlands where its rivers, wetlands and mangroves meet the sea. They all come from the same story, and it starts underwater.

Panama’s Most Spectacular Landscapes, One by One

Eight landscapes, eight places to see them. Most are on the Pacific side, in Veraguas and on the Azuero Peninsula, where we spend our days on the water. For a province-by-province plan, read our guide to Veraguas.

Islands & coral reefs · CoibaA National Park Out at Sea38 islands and more than 100 islets around the healthiest coral community in the Tropical Eastern Pacific. Granito de Oro, its most famous beach, is closed for conservation.Read the Coiba guide →Mangroves & wetlands · Gulf of MontijoA Forest That Floods Twice a DayPanama’s largest Ramsar wetland: about 97,000 hectares of rivers and mangroves, home to a family of more than 80 bottlenose dolphins.Read the gulf guide →Sea turtle beaches · Isla Cañas & MariatoBeaches That Belong to Sea TurtlesIsla Cañas is one of only 11 beaches in the world with arribadas, when sea turtles come ashore by the thousands. In Mariato, local families guard the nests every night.Read the sea turtle guide →Island of hills & waterfalls · CebacoWaterfalls, Cliffs and Empty CovesPanama’s third-largest island, with about 50 km of coastline, small fishing villages and waterfalls that run strongest in the green season.Read the Cebaco guide →Turquoise water · Isla Iguana, PedasiThe Island That Used to Be a TargetWhite sand and clear water off the Azuero Peninsula. It was once used for bombing practice. Today it is a wildlife refuge, and the coast around it is known as the Tuna Coast.See the Pedasi fishing tour →Surf coast · Santa CatalinaWhere the Swell Meets the RocksLa Punta, a rocky point break that pulls surfers from all over the world, next to a fishing village that became the gateway to Coiba.Read the Santa Catalina guide →Mountains & waterfalls · Santa FeCool Highlands Full of RiversSanta Fe National Park protects the green mountains of northern Veraguas: rivers to swim in, coffee and orchid farms, and trails that end at a waterfall.Things to do in Santa Fe →Open ocean · July to OctoberThe Blue Where Whales Are BornHumpback whales swim up from Antarctic waters to give birth along the Pacific coast of Panama. Dolphins ride the bow all year round.Read the whale watching guide →

What Is the Prettiest Place in Panama?

Panama doesn’t have one prettiest place. It has one for every landscape. If you ask us, though, it’s the beaches of Coiba National Park, and we are not the only ones who think so.

In the first scenic assessment of the park’s beaches, the Coiba AIP Scientific Station scored 42 beaches one by one, from the shape of the coast to the color of the water. Isla Coco came out on top.

Coiba National Park: The Wild Side of Panama

The prison that saved a forestCoiba is the largest island in Central America. From 1919 to 2004 it was a penal colony, and for most of the 20th century almost nobody was allowed near it. Nobody logged the forest, and nobody fished the reefs.

That dark chapter left Panama an accidental gift. Today Coiba is a national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with about 800 species of fish, 23 species of whales and dolphins, and capuchin monkeys that use stones as tools.

You can walk the jungle trails, snorkel with sea turtles and spend the afternoon on a beach like Rancheria. Granito de Oro, once the park’s most famous snorkeling spot, is now closed for conservation, and that is good news for its reef. Planning a visit? Start with how to get to Coiba.

The Gulf of Montijo: A Landscape That Changes Every 6 Hours

Fresh water from the highlands of Veraguas runs down rivers like the San Pedro. Every time the tide comes in, the ocean pushes salt water up every channel of the gulf. The result is brackish water, and the mangroves that grow in it are a nursery for the ocean.

The gulf has fewer than 10 islands, and that is part of its charm: the landscape is the water itself, the birds and the mangroves. Most trips leave from El Bongo, 5 minutes from Puerto Mutis. To understand why it matters, read the ocean’s nursery and why mangroves are important.

Mariato: The Sunset Coast

The end of the continentOn the western side of the Azuero Peninsula, the beaches of Mariato look out over the Pacific, and every evening the sky turns pink and gold. Locals call it the Sunset Coast.

At its tip, inside Cerro Hoya National Park, Punta Mariato is the southernmost point of mainland North America. Surfers come for the dark sand and strong waves of Playa Morrillo, and from June to December families along the Tortuga EcoRoute protect the sea turtle nests.

Read more in our guide to the Mariato coast.

Azuero’s Coast: Pedasi, Isla Iguana and Isla Cañas

Pedasi is a colonial town of white houses, festivals and fishing boats, on the stretch of coast known as the Tuna Coast. Offshore, Isla Iguana turns the water a shade of turquoise that doesn’t need a filter, and from July to October humpback whales pass close to shore.

About an hour from Pedasi, Isla Cañas is one of the few beaches on the planet where sea turtles nest in mass arrivals. The community runs the tours, protects the nests and paddles visitors through the mangroves. More in our sea turtle guide.

Panama’s Cultural Landscapes

Some of Panama’s best landscapes were shaped by people. The Panama Canal, which opened in 1914, is one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. Colonial towns like Pedasi keep their churches and squares, and in the mountains of Veraguas the church of San Francisco de la Montana hides altars carved in wood and covered in gold.

Villages that live by the tideOn the Pacific coast, the cultural landscape is a fishing village: painted boats pulled up on the sand, nets drying in the sun and a schedule set by the tide. On islands like Gobernadora and Leones, in the Gulf of Montijo, fishing families still live this way, and the women fishers of Isla Leones now cook what the gulf gives for visitors.

How to See Panama’s Landscapes From the Water

The most spectacular landscapes of the Pacific have no road to them. All our tours are private, with one boat for your group, and the route follows the tides, the weather and your pace. Here is where we would start.

From $950 / boatCoiba · Private boat · Up to 6See the Wild Side of Panama in One DaySnorkel with sea turtles over Coiba’s reefs, walk a jungle trail and have a quiet beach to yourselves. From Santa Catalina or El Bongo.See the Coiba snorkeling tour →

Cebaco Island · $650 per boatAn Island Day Without the CrowdsSnorkel at Tintorera, swim from an empty beach and lunch on the sand. Up to 6 people.See the Cebaco tour →Gulf of Montijo · $45 per personPaddle the Mangroves at SunriseThe Bird Awakening: about 2 hours by kayak up the San Pedro River, with herons, howler monkeys and 0 liters of fuel.See the kayak tour →Isla Leones · $450 per boatMangroves, Islands and a Seafood LunchCross the gulf, meet Las Aventureras and taste the Adventurer’s Plate on Isla Leones ($20 per person).See the Isla Leones tour →Coiba · Fishing from $1,500 per boatFish the Edge of the ParkA private day of sport fishing around Coiba National Park, with a fishing captain on board. Up to 4 anglers.See the Coiba fishing tour →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Panama’s landscape like?

Panama is a narrow isthmus between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. A chain of mountains runs down the middle, with Volcan Baru (3,474 m) as the highest point, surrounded by tropical rainforest, rivers and lowlands. Both coasts have beaches, mangroves and coral reefs, and the country has more than 1,500 islands.

What are the main geographical features of Panama?

The main geographical features of Panama are the Talamanca range and the Central Cordillera, Volcan Baru, the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, more than 1,500 islands, large mangrove wetlands such as the Gulf of Montijo, and the Panama Canal, which cuts across the isthmus.

What is the prettiest place in Panama?

It depends on the landscape you love, but the beaches of Coiba National Park are hard to beat. In a scenic assessment of 42 beaches in the park by the Coiba AIP Scientific Station, Isla Coco ranked first. Granito de Oro, the most famous one, is closed for conservation.

What is Panama famous for?

Panama is famous for the Panama Canal, for being the narrow land bridge between two oceans and two continents, and for its nature: rainforests, more than 1,500 islands, Coiba National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), humpback whales from July to October and sea turtle beaches.

Where can I see Panama’s most spectacular landscapes on a tour?

On the Pacific side, in Veraguas and on the Azuero Peninsula. Pacific Adventure Tours runs private boat tours to Coiba National Park (from $950 per boat), Cebaco Island ($650 per boat) and the Gulf of Montijo, with departures from Santa Catalina and from El Bongo, 5 minutes from Puerto Mutis.