At the National Handicraft Fair:

World-famous, colorful Molas, sturdy Emberá Indian baskets and wine produced with tropical fruits are some of the items visitors can take home at the National Handicraft Far, scheduled July 29-August 1 at Atlapa Convention Center.

Organized by Panama’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Handicraft Fair is an annual grand festival in which more than 450 artisans from all regions of Panama participate. As a novelty this year, the entire Las Totumas Theater of Atlapa will be transformed into a huge workshop, where craftsmen will work and sell their ‘hot’ creations on the spot.

Open every morning at 10:00 a.m. and closing at 10:00 p.m, the fair will be a true fiesta, including vivid folklore dance shows, public dancing, and performances of local fiddlers, accordionists, drummers and any other artist belonging to the "típico" (native Panamanian) music genre. Food and drinks will be varied and abundant.

Panama exhibits a great variety of handicrafts -the result of the diverse cultures that inhabit the land: Hispanics, Native Americans and the descendants of Africans, to name a few. In recent years, a number of international organizations have improved the skill and potential of local artisans through technical training.

Admittance to the fair costs $2.00 for the general public (Retirees and children under 12 pay $1.00) For more information on the Handicraft Fair, call: 226-7000.

Visitors in other countries often need to travel long distances to get to the nearest natural refuge, but in Panama City you can be there in a matter of minutes. There are five natural refuges in the metropolitan area (three of them national parks) making eco-tourism a very feasible and inexpensive activity.

Soberania National Park
Located 30 minutes from downtown, Parque Soberanía contains excellent hiking trails, including segments of the Camino de Cruces - the cobblestone road by which Peruvian gold was transported on its way to Spain. The park’s area measures 22,104 hectares.

One of the park’s best attractions is Pipeline Road, a thoroughfare built by U.S. forces in Panama during WWII which is visited by hundreds of birdwatchers each year. The road is the site of the Audubon Society’s annual bird count, on Christmas Day.

An excellent place for camping is Sendero del Charco, a nature trail located on the way to Gamboa.

Chagres National Park
Encompassing an area of 135,000 hectares, this park preserves the main watershed of the Panama Canal. About 80% of the water needed for the canal's operation, and all the drinking water for Panama City, originates in this watershed. The park takes its name from the Chagres River, which supplies fresh water to the Panama Canal and the Panama City-Colón metropolitan area. The forests surrounding both the Chagres River and Alajuela Lake are dotted with villages of the Emberá-Wounaan Native American tribes, whose way of life has not changed very much in 500 years, and who are known for their excellent handicrafts. A number of tour companies offer trips via the Chagres to these villages. Call Panama City Tours, tel.: (507) 263-8918

Metropolitan Nature Park
This park, a 15 minute drive from Panama City, has numerous nature trails and is the site of extensive tropical rainforest research.

Although close to the city, it is home to more than 250 species of birds and 40 species of mammals. The view from the the top of Cerro Mono Titi is spectacular, offering a panoramic vista of the city, the port of Balboa, and neighboring Camino de Cruces National Park.

Camino de Cruces National Park
Just 30 minutes from Panama City, this splendid park (4,950 hectares) was created in 1992 and its location between the Soberania National Park to the north and the Metropolitan National Park to the south guarantees the flow of species from the other two parks while at the same time protecting the east bank of the ecological basin of the Panama Canal.

Multiple species of birds and mammals can be seen in this lush rainforest, which takes its name from one of the trans-isthmian colonial roads used by the Spanish to transport Peruvian gold to Spain.

Ancon Hill:
Towering 199.34 meters above sea level, Ancon Hill, the highest point in Panama City, encompasses a secondary tropical forest as well as a fascinating history. The hill is home to endemic species of amphibians, such as the dentrobates aurastus, an attractive black-and turquoise frog, in addition to toucans, monkeys, white-tail deer and thousands of species of insects.

The summit of this natural reserve can be reached by a walk of between 20 and 30 minutes and offers spectacular vistas of the Panama Canal and the Panama City area.

Ancon Hill was used as a vantage point during the colonial period. A gentle stream provided fresh water to the city’s inhabitants for centuries until the early days of the construction of the Panama Canal. During that period, part of the hill was leveled by the U.S. military, which built a system of bunkers and tunnels there. Entrance to the park is free. It opens daily from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The hill’s main entrance is on Avenida de Los Mártires (4th o July Avenue), near the Mi Pueblito Tourist Center.