Volcán Barú National Park

Parque Nacional Volcán Barú

Panama's highest peak at 3,475 meters, a dormant volcano from whose summit you can see both the Pacific and Caribbean on a clear day. The park protects cloud forest teeming with quetzals and offers challenging overnight summit hikes.

Things to do

• Summit Barú overnight hike — Tackle the challenging trail from Boquete, timing your arrival for a pre-dawn summit where on clear days you can glimpse both the Pacific and Caribbean oceans.
• Quetzal spotting on Los Quetzales Trail — Hike this famous cloud forest trail connecting Boquete and Cerro Punta to search for the resplendent quetzal, especially common during the March to June breeding season.
• 4x4 tour to the summit — Hire a rugged 4x4 with a local driver to reach the antenna-topped summit without the grueling overnight trek if you're short on time or stamina.
• Birdwatching in the cloud forest — Explore trails rich with over 250 bird species including trogons, hummingbirds, and the three-wattled bellbird amid mossy, mist-shrouded vegetation.
• Explore Cerro Punta highland farms — Visit the fertile farming valley on the park's western side where cool-climate vegetables, strawberries, and flowers are cultivated on steep green slopes.
• Coffee tour in Boquete — Take a guided plantation tour on the volcano's eastern slopes to learn how the region's prized high-altitude Geisha coffee is grown and processed.

Food to try

• Geisha coffee — Sample Boquete's world-renowned Geisha varietal, one of the most expensive and aromatic coffees on earth, grown in the volcanic soils around Barú.
• Sancocho de gallina — Warm up after a cold hike with this hearty Panamanian chicken and root-vegetable soup seasoned with culantro, a comfort food staple in the highlands.
• Trucha (highland trout) — Enjoy fresh trout farmed in the cool mountain streams around Cerro Punta and Volcán, often served grilled or fried with local vegetables.
• Fresas con crema — Try strawberries with cream made from the fruit grown in Cerro Punta's cool climate, sold at roadside stands throughout the region.
• Hojaldres with local cheese — Start your day with fried dough pastries paired with fresh queso blanco from the surrounding dairy farms.

Local customs & good to know

• Register and hire a guide — Pay the park entrance fee and register with rangers before summiting, and consider a certified guide since the trail is long, cold, and easy to attempt unprepared.
• Dress for near-freezing summit cold — Temperatures at the top can drop near freezing with fierce wind, so bring layers, gloves, and a hat even though the lowlands are warm.
• Respect Ngäbe-Buglé communities — Indigenous Ngäbe people live and work throughout the region, so ask permission before photographing people and support local artisans and vendors.
• Start the climb before midnight — Most hikers begin the summit trek around 11pm to midnight to reach the top for sunrise, so plan your rest and headlamp accordingly.

Nearby

• Cerro Punta — 6 km
• The Lost Waterfalls — 9 km
• Volcán — 11 km
• Boquete — 12 km