Day 1 - Arrive to Panama
Arrive to Tocumen Airport, Panama City.  Meet and greet your guide and transfer to your rainforest hotel (45 minutes). 3 Nights at Radisson Summit Panama

Day 2 - Las Cruces Trekking & Jungle Boat Adventure
Early this morning you will meet your guide over breakfast for a briefing. Soon enough you take a 15 minute drive to the Camino de Cruces (Las Cruces Trail).  This historic trail was built by the Spanish in the early years of the colony to communicate Panama City, located on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, with Fort San Lorenzo, by the mouth of the mighty Chagres River on the Caribbean Sea.  The stoned trail ended at a bend on the Chagres River (where it now meets the Panama Canal) and from there on transportation of goods and people took place via dugout canoes.  Fortunately a 10km stretch of the trail (4-5 hours) has been protected within Soberania National Park.  The mostly flat, but physically challenging trail will take you through rivers and magnificent rainforests teeming with exotic wildlife and historic landmarks.  You will reach the ruins of the town of Venta de Cruces, by the Chagres River, where you board a comfortable expedition boat and depart on an adventure that will include a voyage across Gatun Lake in the Panama Canal passing by gigantic cargo ships transiting the waterway, making contrast with the natural surroundings.  Along the way, you will have the opportunity to spot Green iguana and Three-toed sloth resting on tree branches, Crocodile, Osprey in the hunt for Peacock bass, Snail kite and Keel-billed toucan among other wildlife.  Gatun Lake was formed to give way to the Panama Canal in 1914.  With a surface of 423 square-kilometers, at the time of its creation was the largest man-made lake in the world.  The flow of all the rivers within the Panama Canal Watershed is contained in Gatun Lake to provide water for the operation of the lock system.  More than 52 million gallons of fresh water are used for every ship that transits through the Panama Canal from one ocean to another.  Your expedition boat will allow close approximations to rainforest covered islands (former hill tops) in Gatun Lake to search for White-faced capuchin, Mantled howler monkey, Spider monkey, and Geoffrey’s tamarin. Night at Radisson Summit Panama (BL)

Day 3 - Salto del Tigre Adventure
Early this morning you will be transferred for about 1:15 hour drive to the Caribbean side of Panama where you start your day adventure. A combination of horseback riding and trekking takes you into the jungles of Costa Arriba and along the river to the head of Rio Piedra. Take a dip into a magnificent series of waterfalls and pools with clear, fresh water and enjoy this challenging excursion through this beautiful valley known as Salto del Tigre which directly borders the Portobelo National Forest. Night at Radisson Summit Panama (BL)

Day 4 - Chagres River & Embera Indians - Chiriqui Highlands
This morning you will be transferred to El Corotu on the shores of Madden Lake for a more relaxed and less challenging day excursion. The main reservoir of drinking water for the cities of Panama and Colon, Madden Lake also supplies 40% of the water required for the operation of the Panama Canal. Here, you board a motorized piragua (dugout canoe) and travel up the Chagres River to the Embera indigenous village of Embera Drua.  

The boat journey takes you through the rainforest of the 320,000-acre Chagres National Park, which is the largest of the National Parks protecting the Panama Canal Watershed. Along the Chagres River, you may be able to spot Little Blue and Green Heron, Great Egret, Anhingas, Neotropical Cormorant, Amazon, Ringed, and Green Kingfishers, along with Keel-billed Toucans and Ospreys flying above. At the Embera village you will be greeted with dancing and music. You will learn about Embera customs and their relationship with nature. There will be handcrafts available for sale and you will have a chance to be painted with the traditional jagua, a natural dye the Embera use to adorn their bodies. After a traditional Embera lunch and souvenir shopping you will be heading back to Panama City, where you board a plane to David (1 hour flight), the capital of the Chiriqui Highlands. Short transfer to your hotel in David.
4 nights at Hotel Ciudad de David (BL)

Day 5 - Chiriqui Viejo White Water Rafting
With more than 35 world-class whitewater runs in Panama’s Chiriqui province alone, there is no paddling destination more extraordinary than Panama!  For this trip, you will be transferred for about 1 hour from David to Rio Chiriqui Viejo, near Panama’s border with Costa Rica.  Originating on the northwest side of Volcan Baru, the Viejo is 128 km long in total and offers several different sections of excellent whitewater, ranging from level 3-5 depending on water levels for trip day. A picnic lunch will be served on the riverbank.  At the end of the day, travel back to your hotel. Night at Hotel Ciudad de David (BL)

Day 6 - Boquete Coffee Experience & Canopy Zipline
45-minute transfer to Boquete for your morning coffee tour. You will learn about the growing, processing, roasting, packing, and trading of high-end quality coffee. Enjoy a lunch at a local restaurant. This afternoon you will glide through the treetops of century-old forests, high above the pristine rivers and waterfalls that make up the incredible collection of natural landscapes bordering La Amistad International Park.  The Canopy Tree Trek is three kilometers long in total length divided into 12 different stations. The wildlife within the treetops is immense and varied making it possible to appreciate our native species of wildlife; with a bit of luck you may even get the chance to see monkeys and the elusive Resplendent Quetzal. In addition you can marvel at sights of the great variety of orchids and wildflowers that you will find throughout the area. After the tour, do some last minute sightseeing in Boquete before heading back to David for your overnight stay.  Night at Hotel Ciudad de David (BL)

Day 7 - Snorkeling & Swimming in the Gulf of Chiriqui
This morning you will be transferred to Pedregal, a small fishing village just a few minutes out-side of David. From there, you will pass through the mangrove forested islands of Laguna de Chiriqui as you make your way toward Golfo de Chiriqui National Marine Park, a 14,740 hectare marine park that encompasses many uninhabited islands and serves as a refuge for howler monkeys, leatherback and hawksbill turtles, tiger herons, and scores of exotic fish. Today you have the opportunity to pass the day snorkeling, swimming, and relaxing in a hammock and on the white sand beaches of Isla Bolaños or Isla Gamez.  Return late afternoon to your hotel. Night at Hotel Ciudad de David (BL)

Day 8 - Panama City
This morning, return on a 1-hour flight to Panama City and be greeted by your Naturalist guide. Take a walk up the highest point of Panama City, Ancon Hill where you can enjoy wildlife viewing as well as spectacular views over the old and modern part of the city, the Bay of Panama and the Panama Canal. Continue for a bike ride to Amador Causeway where you have lunch at a local seafood restaurant. In the afternoon, a walking tour through Casco Viejo (the old city compound) makes you familiar with the historical events of the area. Casco Viejo is home to monuments to Ferdinand de Lesseps and other Frenchmen instrumental in the ill-fated attempt of the French to construct a canal through Panama. Return to hotel.  1 Night at the Wyndham Garden Panama City (BL)

Day 9 - Depart Panama
Today you are picked up at the lobby of the hotel 2.5 hours prior to your scheduled departure flight and transferred to Tocumen International Airport. Fly home. (B)