The Canal and Central Panama Sights

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1. The Panama Canal

The most interesting spot for viewing the Panama Canal is the visitor center at the Miraflores Locks.North of Miraflores the road to Gamboa heads inland but still passes a couple of spots with canal vistas, namely the Pedro Miguel Locks and the one-way bridge over the Chagres River. The bridge (and Gamboa in general) offers front-row views of the big ships as they pass though the canal. The Panama Canal Railway train to Colón continues north from Gamboa past other vantage points, which is much of that trip's draw. Two other spots with impressive views are the monument erected by the country's Chinese community on the Bridge of the Americas' western side, and the Esclusas de Gatún (Gatún Locks), 10 km (6 miles) south of Colón. Near Colón, the Panama Canal Expansion Visitor Center offers views of construction on the expanded canal (as long as that work continues) and will likely remain open after the new section is finished. But nothing matches the experience of getting out onto the water, which can be done on a canal transit tour or on a nature tour or fishing trip on Gatún Lake.