THE PANAMA CANAL

When people hear the word Panama almost immediately the Panama Canal comes to mind. The Panama Canal is a vital link in global trade and after almost 100 years in existance it is still considered an engineering marvel. Few projects have ever been so ambitious in scope and as succesful.

If you visit Panama than at some point you will want to visit it. It is truly a fascinating experience. Recall that the entire project took well over 10 years to complete and required over 200,000 people to work on and finish the project.

Watching a large ship move through the docks it really sinks in what a engineering marvel the Panama Canal really is!

Please note that additional info (prices, activities, etc) are found to the right of this pages.

Despite the fact that the Panama Canal was built almost 100 years ago, its importance in global trade cannot be underestimated. Each year close to 15,000 ships travel through the Panama Canal. The distance from coast to coast is roughly 50 miles. Average travel time from coast to coast is 8 hours.

Places Of Interest Along The Panama Canal

Miraflores Docks & Visitor Center

A few minutes from downtown Panama City is the Miraflores Visitors Center. Currently there are 4 different exhibits on display, all of which you should spend some time at. The exhibits are: Water the Source of Life, The Canal of the World, The Panama Canal in Action, and Panama Canal History. Each of the exhibits include multi-media displays, models, historical artifacts, and more.

If you are not interested in the visitor center there is a nice viewing area of the Miraflores Docks. There you can watch large and small ships entering the docks and either being lowered or raised and then proceeding on to the next section of the Panama Canal.

Barro Colorado Island: For something different stop by this small island located in the Panama Canal Zone. The place is home to a research center run by the Smithsonian Institute. The island offers a dazzling array of bird, plant, animal and insect species. Check it out!

Monkey Island: Another island located in the Panama Canal Zone. Another type of research center is located on this island, and as the name implies, the topic is monkeys. The scenery is amazing plus of course you have the chance to see monkeys running through the canopy of the rainforest. It is a day trop from Panama City to Monkey Island.