El Valle de Anton

Drive from Isla Grande to El Valle de Anton

Relaxed, I could leave the island life behind me and take the boat back to La Guayra. The hope of a waiting bus quickly faded, but I remained calm and lo and behold, after about an hour, an older man told me that the bus was coming.

And indeed, the bus arrived and I drove back to Sabanitas where I had to transfer at the Rey Supermarket, just like on the way there. You can also continue to Colon, but that saves at least 30-40 minutes.

I sat at the bus stop across the street, but 2 minutes later the next Chicken Bus stopped honking. I heard the words 'Panama International', asked in surprise, and he assured me that it was my destination. So back to Panama City. This time it took longer than on the way there because it was not a coach bus, no, it was another Chicken Bus. But I had time and could enjoy the almost 2 hours to the city.

From Panama City, I took a small bus directly to 'El Valle de Anton' where the driver dropped me off right at the hostel.

El Valle de Anton

The small town is beautifully situated in a wide area in what is probably the second largest inhabited crater area in the world. The scenery all around is stunningly beautiful, surrounded by a mountainside, and all of them invite you to very nice hikes. I also did 3 hikes within 3 days.

On the first day, I went to 'La India Dormida'. I only had to leave El Valle for a kilometer and soon I was on a rocky path going uphill where I could enjoy a great view after a short time. Then the path led back down through a beautiful forest and through fruit plantations on a circular path. Where I reached a nice grassy plateau. It was very windy, but the view was very nice.

At some point, I went back down passing a waterfall, perfect for cooling off. Downstairs, I realized that it actually costs admission, but since I was walking in the opposite direction, I could save that. Which I didn't know beforehand, of course.

On the second day, I took on the 'Cerro Gaital' with Nick from Holland. This hike was definitely more challenging. The path was rocky and quite wet. Which was somehow clear, this mountain is covered with cloud forest all the way to the top. It is about 90 minutes to the viewpoint, but quite easily doable.

But you could continue from here, which of course tempted. But from here on it was crawling, scrambling, and climbing, that was definitely a different level, where I got off at an altitude of 1140 meters, while Nick ran the rest up to 1173 meters. It couldn't be called anything else, as I spotted him at the summit after just 10 minutes.

On the third day, I actually wanted to chill, but there was still this one mountain 'Cerro Cara Iguana' which I now also tackled.

At first, it was quite steep uphill, but again, it was a very pleasant circular route and I was rewarded with a fantastic panoramic view of El Valle. The waterfall on the way back was another challenge because a road was blocked and so 1 km quickly became a 5 km detour. Arriving there sweaty, it cost 2 dollars admission, which I could have saved because it was unspectacular on the one hand and completely overcrowded on the other.

In conclusion, I can only say that on a trip to Panama, El Valle de Anton should definitely be included, especially if you love mountains like I do.