Gamboa Rainforest: Day Trips and Tours from Panama City

Explore Panama’s breathtaking biodiversity of its rainforests and beautiful coast during the Gamboa rainforest tours from Panama City.

The Gamboa tour offers a complete excursion, watching exotic wildlife on the riverbanks and visiting an indigenous tribe.

See the Panama Canal extension that guides supertankers through the series of enormous Agua Clara locks and explore the historic ruins of San Lorenzo Fort and old village of Chagres.

Here's all you need to know about Gamboa rainforest, one of the most captivating day trips from Panama City.

What are the best Gamboa rainforest tours from Panama City?

Gamboa rainforest guided tour with lunch from Panama City

Explore the Gamboa rainforest on an aerial tram and enjoy a boat cruise along the Panama Canal on this fascinating day trip from Panama City.

Learn the forest's interesting secrets from a nature guide, see Panama’s flora and fauna and finish your tour with a delicious lunch.

You will be transported to the Gamboa Reserve where you will board an aerial tram for a ride to a 85-meter peak, surrounded by lush jungle.

During ascent to the observation tower, you can enjoy the marvelous views of the Chagres River, the indigenous Embera people and the Soberania National Park.

The Gamboa forest accommodates several natural labs including the Butterfly House where you can see about 20 species native to Panama.

There is also an orchids center, a delightful frog pond and a sloth sanctuary where you can get up close to the sloths. The sloth sanctuary conducts a rehabilitation programme for hurt and orphaned sloths.

Then enjoy a scenic boat cruise along the waterways of the Panama Canal, where you can marvel at Lake Gatun and the forest’s wildlife.

Aided by your guide, this is your opportunity to observe caimans and crocodiles, sloths and monkeys and dozens of colorful birds. To end your tour, enjoy the delicious lunch.

Rainforest, San Lorenzo Fort and canal expansion tour

Discover Panama’s exquisite wildlife and relive ancient Panama history on this Gamboa rainforest day tour from Panama City.

See the amazing Panama Canal extension moving New Panamax super tankers through enormous locks and explore historic San Lorenzo Fort and Chagres village.

You will be transported to Gamboa in Colón province in an air-conditioned minibus and driven deep into the rainforest, with several stops to photograph wildlife.

Look out for sloths and monkeys, anteaters, caymans, iguanas, parrots and toucans, among others.

From here you will visit the Agua Clara locks section of the Panama Canal extension, inaugurated in 2016.

Discover how marine engineers raised the water level of Gatun Lake and widened existing channels to let through New Panamax ships.

After the Panama Canal, visit the UNESCO-listed historic San Lorenzo Fort, famous for withstanding Caribbean pirate attacks for some 75 years.

For a long time, the fort guarded the Las Cruces overland trail for Spain’s gold and other treasures from Central and South America.

Which places are visited/seen?

The Panama Canal

Cutting about 8,000 kilometers from the voyage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Panama Canal is crucial to the world’s marine trade. Annually about 14,000 ships sail through the Panama Canal on an 8 to 10-hour journey.

It officially opened in 1914, after a cost of more than US$350 million – the United States’ most expensive construction project to that stage.

Construction began in 1904 and tens of thousands of laborers from mostly Barbados, Martinique, and Guadeloupe worked on the project.

During the digging of the channel across the isthmus of Panama, thousands of these laborers died from diseases and accidents.

Chagres and Fort San Lorenzo

Chagres was once the chief Atlantic port on the Panama isthmus but is now a deserted village at the original site of Fort San Lorenzo.

The old village and the fort's ruins lie about 13 kilometers west of Colón, on a prominence at the Chagres River mouth.

By 1534, Spain had established a gold route over the Panama isthmus, using the river and mule trains.

Following pirate attacks on Panama's coast around 1560, Fort San Lorenzo was built at the Chagres River's mouth from 1598 to 1601. A new fort was constructed in the 1680s during which time Chagres town was established.

The Spanish later abandoned the old trails over the isthmus and the fort was used as a prison. With the construction of the Panama Canal, Chagres’ residents had to be resettled to Nuevo Chagres, 13.2 kilometers to the southwest.

How much do Gamboa rainforest tours from Panama City cost?

The Gamboa rainforest guided tour with lunch costs from US$165 per person and the rainforest, San Lorenzo Fort and canal expansion tour costs US$85 per person.

For pickup at  hotels or resorts outside Panama City, you have to pay an extra US$10 per person for round trip transfer.

If not included in your tour, the admission fee to the Agua Clara Locks is US$15 for adults and US$10 for children and at Fort Lorenzo US$5.

What is included?

The Gamboa rainforest tours from Panama City include hotel pickup and drop-off, transport by air-conditioned minivan and beverages, entrance to the Gamboa Reserve and disposable mask.

The rainforest, San Lorenzo Fort and canal expansion tour does not include lunch or entrance fees.

Where does it start?

The starting point for the Gamboa rainforest tours from Panama City is with pickup from your hotel in Panama City, to be transported to Gamboa Reserve in Colon.

How long does it last?

The duration of the Gamboa rainforest guided tour with lunch is 5 hours and the rainforest, San Lorenzo Fort and canal expansion tour from Panama City lasts 6 hours.

When is the best time for a Gamboa rainforest tour from Panama City?

Panama is a tropical country with hot weather all year. The rainy season is from May to November and the dry season from December to April.

There are heavy downpours during the dry season, too, but most tourists visit during the dry season.

Is it safe?

Panama is safe for all kinds of travelers. According to a recent Global Peace Index, Panama is the 4th safest country in the Western Hemisphere out of 163 countries. Panama City is safe as long as you follow precautions.

The Gamboa rainforest guided tour involving the aerial tram is not recommended for people afraid of heights.

Are children allowed?

Children of all ages are allowed on these tours. Infants must sit on laps or alternatively infant seats available.

Travel tips

• Make sure to book your Gamboa rainforest tour from Panama City in advance.
• US dollars are accepted in Panama along with the Panamanian Balboa (PAB).
• Wear comfortable closed-toe shoes and carry a change of clothes.
• Bring a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen.