Day 1
Arrival To Panama

Upon arrival to Panama you will be met in the Tocumen International airport by a bilingual, interpretive, and birding expert and escorted to your accommodations.  From your lodging, guests can wander the tree-lined streets of this former Canal Zone neighborhood.  Frequent evening and morning visitors to this area include a variety of tanagers, toucans, thrushes, flycatchers, and more.  This evening we will host a “Get Acquainted” event with cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, and a tour briefing.

Day 2
Reserva Privada Cerro Chucanti

Early this morning we head out by road along the PanAmerican Highway to the amazing cloud forest of Riserva Privada Cerro Chucanti.  Along the way we’ll be on the look-out for Bat Falcon, American Kestrel, and White, Roadside, and Savannah Hawks.  This day will be an exciting and challenging adventure for all with a four hour horseback ride up the mountain to the biological field station where we will be staying. 

In the afternoon we will explore the surroundings of the Chucanti Field Station where we will be on the lookout for Violet Capped Hummingbird, Crested Guans, Yellow eared Toucanet, and various raptors species including the Barred Hawk and Black and White Hawk Eagle.

Meals Included: B, L, D

Day 3
Reserva Privada Cerro Chucanti

Today we will explore the Highlands of Darien.  Until recently, (2004) endemic species of birds such as the Beautiful Treerunner and the Strip-cheeked Woodpecker, and rare specialties including the Tooth-billed Hummingbird, Varied Solitaire, and Violet-throated Toucanet could only be found in the very remote regions of Darien National Park.  This all changed with the inception of this private reserve. 

Today we set off on a semi-challenging uphill trail that will take us to the summit ridge of Cerro Chucanti to look for more species for our bird list.  In addition to the endemic species previously mention we also will be on the lookout for species such as Slaty-backed Nightingale Trush, Toddy Mot Mot, Russet-crowned Quail-Dove and many others.

Meals Included: B, L, D

Day 4
Reserva Privada Cerro Chucanti

Today we will explore another of the trails of Chucanti hill.  Because of the topography, we again will be on a semi-challenging uphill walk looking for more new species to add to our list.  Some of the species that we may encounter in the rich ecosystem of Chucanti are the Black-crowned Antpitta, Rufous-vented Ground Cucko, Ocellated Antbird, Blue Cotinga, and the Tacarcuna Bush Tanager.

Day 5
Bayano Forest and the PanAmerican

This morning we’ll take the horses back down the mountain ( this time only a 2 hour ride) and make our way via the PanAmerican Highway back to Panama City.  Along the way we will stop in the area of Bayano to look for new species.  The area of Bayano consists of pockets of dry semi-deciduous forest where the dominant specie of tree is the Cuipo intermixed with some tropical humid forest.

In this area some of the specialities that we will be looking for are the Barred Puffbird, Golden-green Woodpecker, Black-billed Flycatcher, Yellow-green Tyrannulet, Orange-crowned Oriole and the range restricted Black Antshrike.

Meals Included: B, L, D

Day 6
Panama Departure

Today we’ll say “hasta luego” to this enchanting country and return home, where you’ll be eager to share your incredible Panama birding experiences and your newly expanded life list!

Meals Included: B

Each departure itinerary may vary slightly. Although the day in which a stop is listed may differ, you will enjoy the same experiences listed here.