Mainland Bocas

Most visitors spend as little time as possible on the mainland of the province. The towns are poor and neglected and have just about nothing that qualifies as a “tourist attraction,” but those who haven’t experienced the Caribbean boonies may enjoy at least passing through.

They have a bit of a rough, frontier feel and should be approached with some caution, at least at night, but, like most places, you can meet kind people. For most travelers, however, Guabito [1] is just a border crossing, Changuinola [2] and Almirante [3] just transportation hubs on the way to somewhere else, and Chiriquí Grande a name on a map.

Mainland Bocas outside the towns holds more appeal, thanks mainly to the gigantic Parque Internacional La Amistad [4] and increasingly accessible trips up the Río Teribe [5]. Powerful rivers and magnificent evergreen forests lead down from the highlands, where indigenous peoples work to survive both physically and culturally. Important wetlands line the coast, including the—at least nominally—protected San San Pondsack [6].