The highlands of the Chiriqui Province boast of a number of beautiful mountain towns that are definitely worth a visit. Here in this article, we will talk about two such towns – Cerro Punta and Guadalupe.
Cerro Punta
This picturesque village town on the Pan-American Highway is located on Panama’s western highlands, sitting as high as 2100 meters above sea level. The town has become a major tourism destination in recent years due to its cool weather and beautiful ecosystem, attracting a lot of travelers every year.
The town has a European feel because of the carefully tended vegetable farms and Swiss-style steep-pitch roofed lodgings. The town bordering two national parks, Baru Volcano and La Amistad International Park, is mostly visited by tourists coming to experience the parks during the dry season. It is known for its extensive strawberry farms flourishing in its beautiful weather and fertile volcanic soil. Imagine a landscape with rolling green pastures, endless mountain streams, sprawling vegetable farms and Swiss accommodations. That is effectively Cerro Punta for you.
Apart from the two national parks nearby, the town also houses a beautiful horse breeding establishment, Haras Cerro Punta. Guided tours of the estate are provided by the staff in the following sequence: a preview; an explanation of the reproductive process; a visit to the exhibition, including photography with the ‘Centurion’ horse; a visit to the Padrillos Memorial Park, followed by recreation in the lake area. The tour ends at the Graille Boutique, a place for enjoying a cup of Eleta Coffee and purchasing mementos.
Places to Stay and Eat
The town renders a number of good hotel options for tourists.
Hotel Cerro Punta
This hotel, located on the main road, provides a very peaceful and friendly setting for tourists. It offers ten decent looking concrete rooms overlooking a beautiful green backyard with private bathrooms and hot water showers. This is one of the last hotels you will see on your way to the Volcan Baru National Park. The in-house restaurant is known to offer delicious cuisine.
Hacienda Las Nubes
This scintillating property is set in the La Amistad National Park overlooking the Baru Volcano. The hotel has rooms with a contemporary charm, offering seating areas featuring a fireplace, wooden floorings, and furniture. The suites come with private showers. The on-site clubhouse offers a shared kitchen for all guests and a restaurant serving tasty Panamanian dishes. The place also renders facilities like free private parking, a terrace, and a bar. Guests here are encouraged to engage in birdwatching, especially for Quetzales, mostly in March and April.
Eco Treat, Cerro Punta
This beautiful campsite in Cerro Punta houses a beautiful lush green garden, rendering spectacular views of the majestic hills. The place offers a restaurant, bar, barbecue, terrace, and room service. All pf the rooms come with private bathrooms and showers with essential toiletries. Guests commence their mornings with delicious American breakfast and go cycling in the nearby areas. Internet and private parking facilities are available free of cost.
Guadalupe
At the highest point of Cerro Punta, the town of Guadalupe flourishes at a height of around 2200 meters above sea level. The village features diligently tended agricultural farms and beautiful gardens that are a visual treat. The lower part of Guadalupe is an exhibition of picturesque gardens and agricultural plots twining up the steep slopes of the hills while eye-catching animal life flourishes in the upper part. The major tourist attraction in Guadalupe is the Finca Dracula.
Finca Dracula
Located in Guadalupe, Finca Dracula is a privately owned botanical garden involved in the cultivation and conservation of orchids. The place houses two thousand varied species of orchid and an extensive tropical garden. In 1969, a man named Andrew Maduro acquired a desolated pasture and converted it into a wonderland housing innumerable varieties of plant and animal species. Its location, weather, and altitude render perfect conditions for South American Cloud Orchids to flourish substantially.
Visitors can tour the complete place, starting from the lush green gardens full of native bird, plant and animal species, followed by a visit to the orchid exhibition housing orchids of various sizes, shapes, and textures. The tour ends with guests relishing snacks and sweets made with fresh local ingredients at the new cafeteria. Your trip through Chiriqui would be incomplete without spending time in this beautiful and peaceful atmosphere.
Staying and Eating in Guadalupe
The town of Guadalupe serves a couple of very good options to meet the resting and eating needs of visitors.
Los Quetzales Ecolodge and Spa
This beautiful resort, finding itself surrounded by highland cloud forests, is the perfect place for visitors willing to spend some peaceful time away from the hustle and bustle of urban living. Situated at 2200 meters above sea level, the resort offers the highest accommodation facilities in the country. It is run by Carlos Alfaro, a tourism expert in the area.
There are twenty-one rooms on offer, including dorms for men, women, and families. Suites feature tall arched ceilings, wooden floors, furniture, and private bathrooms with hot water showers. An excellent restaurant is also available, featuring a bar and a comfortable lounge. Guests have complete access to a spa and three hot spring-water tubs. An on-premises equestrian featuring ten horses is available for horseback riding, along with privately guided trails to the national parks.
Los Quetzales Cabins
Los Quetzales cabins located around 2 km from the Los Quetzales resort are the best cabin choices in town. The place offers six rustic cabins or dorms surrounded by beautiful rainforests. All the dormitories feature lookout balconies, rendering scintillating views of the surroundings. Trout ponds are available for fishing. There are no meals available. Guests should either arrange a cook or bring their own food. They can also eat in the Los Quetzales Ecolodge restaurant located just a couple of kilometers away.
Conclusion
The above discussion was all about the beautiful towns of Cerro Punta and Guadalupe, located in the highlands of Panama. The towns, just like the other towns located on the trail, render excellent weather, beautiful agricultural farms, endless mountain streams, and extensive varieties of flora and fauna. Finca Dracula in Guadalupe is a beautiful orchid garden, attracting a plethora of tourists from all over the world. Comfortable and well-equipped accommodations and restaurants are also readily available in both towns. Tourists coming to visit the hills are highly encouraged to take a pause at these towns as both of them, given their eye-catching atmosphere and surroundings, are capable of rendering a memorable experience for visitors.
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