Can anyone recommend any treks for Panama? We enjoy mountains, nature, but also like the idea of a historical, cultural trek.
Looking for suggestions.

Thank you
Kyle

I already responded on your question about trekking in Darien.
http://www.anconexpeditions.com lot of experience trekking the region for years.
If you are looking for trekking in other places of Panama:
http://www.senderopanama.com, plenty of experience on the treks they offer.
Have you ever trek on the tropics

Thank you Raul.
We will also be few days in Panama City.
Any recommendations?

I was in Panama a few years ago and went to a nature reserve that was quite special. We stayed there and took hikes with a guide. Depending on how adventurous you are, they can take you on day hikes or overnight trips. They know where to take you to see jaguars. We weren't that adventurous so we just did a day hike and saw lots of amazing different frog species, lots of birds, some monkeys. It was not the Darien, but an area a couple of hours from Bocas del Toro. If you're interested let me know and I'll get more details.

I'm going to be backpacking Panama and Costa Rica for a few weeks and that nature reserve sounds great! Would you be able to find the name of it for me?
Thanks!

Bommer, it is called Weckso - we read about it in our Rough Guide (mind you, we went in 2006). http://weckso.org/english/index.html

At the time it was a pretty new organization, so we were actually the only people there. As we were only doing day hikes, we stayed on-site, in their very basic but totally sufficient facilities. We took a boat from Bocas to Changuinola, where we were picked up by a random guy in his old Mercedes. He was some kind of agent, who just got us to the river where we were picked up by the staff from the reserve on their long dugout canoe. On the way to the boat, we stopped and the agent bought groceries for our meals, which was loaded onto the boat with us. The boat ride was maybe 1-2 hours long, through beautiful, remote jungle scenery. Really lovely. Then we got to the Weckso center, which is a former military training site. It's nothing really remarkable, but was a fine base where we could sleep and eat. The staff there cooked basic meals for us, of fish and rice. During the day their guides took us on hikes through the rainforest, which was sometimes quite rigorous. They are all locals from the villages nearby, so they know the jungle inside and out. They can take you on more serious treks into the mountains, where you can spot jaguars, but it sounded pretty intense for me! I liked it because my understanding is that it is some kind of non-profit/educational facility, and all the guides were locals. I felt kind of iffy about the fact that we paid the money to the agent, I would try to find some way to pay Weckso directly.

Have a great trip!

mp413 Sounds great, do the local guide at wecso speaks good English?
Thank you, I will look into that, I am also looking into Ancon Expeditions Camino Real Trek.
Have anyone done that?

Thanks!

Thank you for all the information.
We just came back from Panama, a true adventure.
We tried to explore as much as we could, but with the little time we had, was a bit difficult.
We did the a city tour with a taxi driver our hotel recommended, he was ok, new where to take us, but no history of the places.
After that experience we decided to contact a tour operator.
We contacted Sendero Panama and did their Wildside of the Panama Canal tour with a visit to the Miraflores Locks afterwards. Great experience, their guide was knowledgeable and found all kinds of wildlife for us.
We also did the Old Spanish Forts in the Caribbean side of the Canal, the same guide, lots of history and wildlife.
http://www.senderopanama.com Highly recommended.
After Panama city we visited el Valle, beautiful little town, the market was smaller than what I expected. Recommend Casa de Lourdes for a nice dinner.
We will go back to Panama and do some trekking.

Thank you for all the information.
We just came back from Panama, a true adventure.
We tried to explore as much as we could, but with the little time we had, was a bit difficult.
We did a city tour with a taxi driver our hotel recommended, he was ok, knew where to take us, but little history of the places.
After that experience we decided to contact a tour operator.
We contacted Sendero Panama and did their Wildside of the Panama Canal tour with a visit to the Miraflores Locks afterwards. Great experience, their guide was knowledgeable and found all kinds of wildlife for us.
We also did the Old Spanish Forts in the Caribbean side of the Canal, the same guide, lots of history and wildlife.
http://www.senderopanama.com Highly recommended.
After Panama city we visited el Valle, beautiful little town, the market was smaller than what I expected. Recommend Casa de Lourdes for a nice dinner.
We will go back to Panama and do some trekking.