Panama Lowlands Itinerary

Jaw-dropping Biodiversity

THE LOWLANDS OF PANAMA!

Tour Cost: From $3,500 to $3,900

Tour Capacity: 10 People

Tour Price Includes: 5-nights accommodation at the Gamboa Rainforest Resort, all (exceptional) meals, in-country transportation, park entrance fees and bird guiding service

Available Dates: ‍ ‍2026 - September 21 - 28 2027 - January 28 - February 2, February 25 - March 2, September 9 - 15

Itinerary Overview:‍ ‍

As a tropical Ornithologist, I began visiting Panama nearly 17-years ago. I fell in love with the country, its habitats, its people and its birds and it quickly became my “home away from home”. I have been fortunate enough to build a family in Panama that treats me and my groups very well and I always look forward to bringing tours to the country to share in its biological wealth and beauty. It is truly an amazing place. This tour focuses on the central lowlands, the most biodiverse region of Panama. During the tour, a single day trip to an extinct volcano will expose the group to the effect of elevation on avian communities and our trip list will be a combination of species of the lowlands and those that have evolved to take advantage of habitats found at slightly higher elevations.

If you have never been to Panama, you HAVE to go! For this tour, we will stay in Gamboa, a sleepy town that sits on the Panama Canal with ready access to some of the best birding locations in the country. We will stay at the incomparable Gamboa Rainforest Resort, perched on the banks of the Chagres River, Tour participants can cool off after a day of birding in the tropical heat by swimming in a pool, booking a spa treatment, or simply sitting at an outdoor bar sipping a tropical drink.

From the town of Gamboa, we will explore the vast Soberania National Park. The focus of our first two days of the tour will be an exploration of the famed Pipeline Road and surrounds. Pipeline Road held the record for the highest number of birds species detected in a 24hr period on earth for many years and for good reason. This relatively easy road cuts into the heart of a mature tropical rainforest and provides the opportunity to see over 450 species, many of which are otherwise difficult to observe due to their habitat associations as mature interior forest birds. To facilitate our birding even further, an observation tower erected in the forest itself will allow us to begin one of our mornings in the canopy, watching as the toucans, parrots, forest-falcons, tanagers and cotingas wake and greet the tropical morning. An adjacent privately-owned reserve offers a series of easy hiking trails and a hummingbird feeding station, which will offer opportunity to see even more rainforest species without extensive effort.

Pipeline Road is a famed birding location. The road itself stretches for 13km through primarily mature forest habitat and, due to the nature of movement dynamics in tropical birds, is consistently exciting from a birding perspective. Mixed species flocks and sit-and-wait species such as trogons and motmots are common and the chance to come across extremely rare species always exists. We could spend our entire tour walking the road (and indeed I have led multiple trips where we focused all of our time on Pipeline Road), but in an effort to expand our bird list to include species associated with other habitat types, we will embark on a number of day trips.

The first of these trips will be to the town of El Valle de Anton. El Valle is a town that sits on the continental divide and has a great diversity of birds from the West and East. At least 75 species can be found at El Valle that we simply won't see in the lowlands at Pipeline Road. We will start the day by walking slowly along gravel roads in the Northwest of the town. These roads serve as a border between the rainforest and agricultural zones. Birding here is excellent in the early morning and our chances of seeing El Valle specialties are very high. Afer our morning of birding, we will head to the famed El Valle market so you can browse the myriad stalls for handcrafted Panamanian goods. We will enjoy a traditional Panamanian lunch in the town and you will have the opportunity to sample exceptional Panamanian coffee before our drive back to the resort.

A second day trip will be focused on the birds of Old Gamboa Road, an easy paved road in dry Caribbean scrub forest, which will expose us to species such as Jet Antbird and Lance-tailed Manakin and many additional species. At the end of the road, a large pond is a roosting and nesting site for Boat-billed and Capped Herons.

All in all, a trip to Panama is an experience you won’t soon forget. There are few other places on earth where hospitality, natural beauty and overwhelming avian diversity intersect with one another. Panama is a global avian hotspot and many of my clients have returned time and again to experience more of this amazing country.

  • You can expect between 200 - 300 species on this tour. For a more detailed tour itinerary, click the button below!

DETAILED ITINERARY
DETAILED ITINERARY
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Lush green mountains with dense forest, partly covered by clouds under a cloudy sky.
A bird of prey, likely a falcon, perched on a branch with a smaller bird in its talons, against a plain sky background.
Colorful bird with blue and black feathers, a bright green patch on its head, orange legs, and a long, curved beak, perched on a thin branch.
A small bird with a black head, white and black spotted breast, and brown and black wings perched on a branch.
Group of eight hikers posing in a lush forest near a waterfall, wearing outdoor clothing and carrying equipment.
A bird of prey, possibly a hawk or eagle, perched on a branch with wings spread wide amidst rain and green leaves, against a cloudy sky.
A bird with a red head and black body perched on a branch, holding a berry in its beak, in a forest setting.
A large resort or hotel complex with multiple buildings featuring green rooftops, surrounded by lush green trees and hills. There is a swimming pool area with a pool, poolside chairs, and umbrellas in the foreground, and mountains and a body of water with a bridge in the background under a partly cloudy blue sky.
Colorful bird with blue and green head, orange chest, and long tail perched on a branch in a forest.
A bright blue bird with black wings and a long, curved black beak perched on a thin, twisted branch.
Group of ten people, some with binoculars and walking sticks, posing outdoors on a mountain with lush green hills and a cloudy sky in the background.
Three black Andean condors perched on a tree branch with a green blurred background.
Interior view of a large atrium with a wooden ceiling, decorative metal staircase, potted plants, and large arched windows overlooking a landscape with trees, a body of water, and distant hills. Three ceiling-mounted bird sculptures are also visible.
A bird with a bright blue face, brown and black patterned feathers, holding an insect in its beak, perched on a branch.
A hotel room with two beds, wooden headboards, bedside lamps, and a seating area near sliding glass doors that open to a balcony with a view of trees and rooftops.