3 Best Sights in The Darien, Eastern Panama

A fascinating option for adventurous travelers is to spend three nights in the Emberá village of La Marea, a 48-km (30-mile) boat ride southeast of La Palma. Advantage Tours Panama offers four-day tours to La Marea that include nights in rustic accommodations and hiking tours into the nearby rain forest to look for wildlife such as spider monkeys, blue-and-gold macaws, and harpy eagles.

You can experience Emberá life up close in the village of Mogue (pronounced MOE-gay) on a bank of a river of the same name, about 30 km (19 miles) southwest of La Palma. The trip there takes you up a winding river through a thick forest to a traditional Emberá community, where people live in thatched huts perched above the ground on wooden posts. From there, you can hike to the nearby rain forest, which has plenty of wildlife. Some cruise ships visit as a day trip. The tour company Eco Circuitos has a four-day tour to Mogue with overnights in traditional Emberá dwellings.

The most comfortable accommodations near La Palma are in the Reserva Natural Punta Patiño, a private nature reserve 32 km (20 miles) southwest of town managed by ANCON, the country's biggest conservation group. A former ranch in the midst of ecological restoration, the reserve consists of 26,000 hectares (65,000 acres) of mature forest and former pastureland. It is home to crab-eating raccoons, crocodiles, capybaras (the world's largest rodent), and hundreds of bird species, ranging from the delicate mangrove swallow to the mighty harpy eagle. Ancon Expeditions offers four-day tours to the Punta Patiño Lodge, on the north end of the reserve.