Fruit, fresh-baked pastry, and hearty coffee (or tea) in hand, you sit on a veranda surrounded by hummingbirds and tanagers taking their breakfast.
The cloud forest-covered jagged peaks create a serene backdrop, and an inviting climate makes it feel like spring all year-round. A small river crosses through the property, attracting forest stream birds, and gives way to natural swimming pools and ponds just a minute’s walk from the open air veranda looking over the gardens and bird feeders. Spacious rooms with large balconies offer great places to relax and enjoy birds and nature.
Your birding guide leads you along a narrow forest trail beside the stream past a waterfall, then up into the cloud forest. The sounds and rewarding sight of new birds is constant. At the top, a view across the valley – el Valle – opens. Far below, the bustle of an unspoiled Panamanian village beckons. Above the waterfall, the Canopy Adventure offers an unparalleled experience of life in the treetops.
With almost too much to do, you are glad to return for lunch on the veranda, to check your field guide and add to your birdlist. The Canopy Lodge offers some of the best birding Panama has to offer, and you deserve to experience it at least once in your life.
El Valle de Antón In Coclé Province, home to both the Canopy Lodge and the Canopy Adventure, is an enchanting mountain valley town much cooler than the tropical lowlands.
Surrounded by scenic misty mountains traversed by creeks, its true charm is revealed by its unhurried pace and its peaceful residents.
Located just two hours from Panama City, El Valle is the perfect resting place for someone trying to escape traffic jams, office buildings, pollution and the pressures of everyday city life.
There are many nature-related things to do in El Valle de Antón. At the Canopy Adventure you may go on a nature hike where you may encounter forest mammals, such as Geoffroy’s Tamarins or Hoffmann’s Two-toed Sloths, as well as many gaudy tropical birds; and/or you may want to take the challenge of our zip-line adventure, where you will be thrilled at the grandeur of the cloud forest at eye level; or just relax by or in a natural waterfall.
Corner & Double Rooms
The main building has eight double rooms, each with a balcony overlooking the gardens and the stream (Rio Guayabo).
Six of these rooms have two full size beds and two corner rooms (#4 & #8) have one king size bed. The rooms are quite ample and have lots of storage space, an overhead fan, a desk, reading lamps behind the bed and a towel warmer in the bathroom. You may very well spend a whole morning in the balcony watching the birds in the garden or reading a good book.
Single Rooms
The single room building is located adjacent to the main lodge (double rooms & corner suites). Each of the four single rooms has a large wall of windows overlooking the gardens and the stream (Rio Guayabo), private bathroom, ceiling fan, desk and chair, reading lamp, towel warmer and storage space.
Observation Veranda
The perfect spot for relaxed and easy birding, only feet away from your bedroom. It’s just one of the reasons so many people rave about making the Canopy Lodge their ideal destination for nature holidays in Panama. We have several feeders where an amazing variety of birds come to feed throughout the day. Tanagers, motmots, euphonias, oropendolas and even aracaris show up regularly.
Library
The library at the Canopy Lodge in Panama contains many books, in English and Spanish, about natural history, bird guides, butterflies, best sellers, novels and magazines. There is also WIFI and an iMac for the use of the guests.
Natural Swimming Pool
A natural swimming area in an idyllic tropical setting can be found in the gardens of the Canopy Lodge, making this one of the most intriguing spots at any El Valle, Panama hotel. Created by diverting crystal-clear water from the nearby Guayabo River, this pool has a year-round temperature of 76F—quite a welcome respite if you have been doing some heavy birding or hiking on our nature trails.
Depth varies from 3-4 feet at the beginning to 6-7 feet in other portions, and an inviting overhanging tree with ropes completes the scene. You can swing from these ropes gracefully like a monkey or you can fall in the water like a ripe papaya.
The Waterfall
With suspension bridges over a scenic creek and offering picturesque views, the Waterfall called “Chorro El Macho” is the signature trail of the Canopy Adventure and one of the most fun things to do in El Valle de Antón, Panama. In less than one hour to complete this rather easy loop trail, you will be astounded by the complexity of this piece of Panamanian cloud forest and amazed at the biodiversity that is at your fingertips.
