Panama Canal & Gatun Lake: Jungle Cruise with Wildlife & Hike

4.84

(145 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I didn’t really expect the Panama Canal to feel so alive. The drive out from the city was quiet—just me, a couple from Canada, and our guide Luis who kept pointing out birds I’d never have noticed. When we got to Gamboa, the air felt thick and green. We climbed into this little covered boat and suddenly we were gliding past these massive ships on Gatun Lake. I could smell wet earth and something sweet—maybe orchids? Luis handed me binoculars but honestly, half the time I just watched the water ripple around us.

The first monkey we saw (a capuchin) jumped onto a branch so close I actually flinched. Luis grinned—he said they sometimes get bold if you’ve got fruit. We floated by these tiny islands where howlers made this deep echoing call that sort of vibrated in my chest. There was a moment when everything went quiet except for that sound and the splash of an iguana dropping into the water. It’s weird how peaceful it felt, even with all that wildness around.

After the cruise, we hiked into Soberania along Pipeline Road. It wasn’t a hard walk but it was hot—the kind of sticky heat where your shirt clings to your back. Every so often Luis would stop and point out something small: a blue butterfly landing on someone’s hat, or an orchid twisting up a tree trunk. He showed us how to spot sloths (look for what looks like a bundle of moss). At one point he laughed at my attempt to pronounce “quetzal” in Spanish—I still can’t get it right. Anyway, I keep thinking about those flashes of color in the trees.