Monkey, Sloth and Toucan Jungle Habitat Tour Panama City

Gatun Lake and the Panama Canal channel

Gatun Lake was created between 1907 and 1913, when engineers dammed the Chagres River at Gatun to raise ships 26 metres above sea level on their way across the isthmus. When it filled, it was the largest artificial lake in the world, covering about 425 square kilometres, and today ships still sail some 33 kilometres across it on every transit of the Panama Canal. The flooded forest left hundreds of small islands and quiet inlets that are now a haven for wildlife.

A Gatun Lake tour from Panama City is one of the few ways to be on the water inside the canal itself. Your boat follows the edge of the shipping channel, so you see container ships, tankers and car carriers glide past at close range, a striking contrast with the green jungle shores. How to get to Gatun Lake? The landing is about 45 minutes to an hour by road from the city, and our transfer is included.

The Monkey Islands of Gatun Lake

When the valley was flooded, the tops of the hills became islands, and monkeys that lived in the forest stayed on them. Today the so-called Monkey Islands shelter white-faced capuchins, the curious and clever monkeys that often come down to the branches near the shore, and mantled howler monkeys, whose deep roar can carry for kilometres across the lake. Small Geoffroy's tamarins are sometimes seen too.

Is Monkey Island in Panama worth it? For wildlife lovers it is one of the easiest places in the country to see monkeys in the wild, only a short trip from the capital. Your guide explains their behaviour and family groups, and the boat keeps a respectful distance; feeding the animals is not allowed, as it harms their health. Islands are protected, so guests watch from the boat without landing.

Rainforest trail: sloths, toucans and jungle vines

After the lake, the tour continues on a short trail through tropical forest, where your guide uses the spotting scope to pick out wildlife hidden high in the canopy. Panama has both brown-throated three-toed sloths and Hoffmann's two-toed sloths, which move so slowly that algae grows in their fur, helping them blend into the leaves. Look for keel-billed toucans with their rainbow beaks, collared aracaris, trogons and colourful tanagers.

The trail is short and easy, with time to touch the thick lianas that hang from the giant trees and even swing on a vine like a real explorer. Thanks to the binoculars provided for each guest, even children can follow every sighting. The best time to see sloths in Panama is in the morning or late afternoon, when they are most likely to move, so both of our departure times are well chosen.

Wildlife of central Panama: what else you may see

Panama lies on the land bridge between North and South America, and more than 1,000 bird species have been recorded in the country, more than in the United States and Canada together. Around Gatun Lake look for ospreys, snail kites, herons, kingfishers and cormorants, as well as green iguanas sunning on branches, turtles on floating logs and, along quiet banks, spectacled caimans and American crocodiles.

Nearby, Barro Colorado Island in the lake has hosted one of the world's best-known tropical research stations since 1923, and the surrounding parks protect the forests that feed the canal with water. Your guide shares these stories while you watch. Remember that this is wild nature: every trip is different, and part of the fun is discovering which animals appear on your day.