Bayano & Torti - Be ready to get up in the dark! Today we will leave very early to catch the first hours of the morning in the Bayano area. The Darien Lowlands are home to some of Panama’s specialties such as the White-eared Conebills, Rufous-winged Antwren, One-colored and Cinereous Becard, Orange-crowned Oriole, Black Antshrike, Stripe-throated Wren. Other species seen here are: Laughing Falcon, Bright-rumped Attila, Barred Puffbird, Red-rumped Woodpecker and Royal Flycatcher.
The town of Torti will be our base to explore the rich and little visited area of these Darien lowlands. Porta Avicar Hotel will be our home for the next two nights. With its simple Panamanian style, the hotel is the only clean and comfortable hotel east of Panama City with air condition, hot water and a tiny swimming pool. During the afternoon we will bird watch the nearby Torti gallery forest. This area boasts some interesting surprises like Pacific and Mustached Antwrens, Royal Flycatcher, Black Antshrike, and Bay Wren.
Tierra Nueva - The uplifting of the seabed that created the Darien lowlands consists of sandstone and limestone. The result is a forest with soft rich soil supporting a lush and vivid forest. The Tierra Nueva Foundation is one of few forests accessible via Panamerican Highway. This is the closest will be to the Pirre mountains, a high endemism area. Many birds from South America find their northernmost limit here. Yellow-breasted Flycatcher, Spectacled Parrotlet, the Darien morph of the Bay Wren, Red-rumped Woodpecker, White-headed Wren, King Vulture, Crested Guan, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Black-capped Donacobius, Golden-green Woodpecker, Gray-cheeked Nunlet, Capped Heron, Green Ibis and many more surprises can be found in this gorgeous forest.
Nusugandi & Return to Panama City - Northwest of Torti is the area of Nusagandi. This forest is located on the narrowest section of the continent with only 28 miles from tidal waters in the Pacific to the Caribbean coast. The mountains that exceed 1,000 ft above the sea level were the main obstacle for the construction of a canal to be built in this area. These mountains are also attributed to why so much humidity falls over this virgin forest, sacred to the Dule or Kuna Indians. In 1972 a road was opened from the pacific to the Caribbean and the community of Carti, but the strong opposition of the Dule nation prevented the latino farmers from cutting down this sacred forest. The Nargana Wilderness Area was created to preserve and to study the unknown jungles of the Kuna Yala indian reservation. The high humidity and many small creeks make the area home to real rarities such as Sapayoa, Speckled Antshrike, Dull-mantled Antbird, Black-striped Woodcreeper, Black-crowned Antpitta, Tawny-capped Euphonia, Dusky-faced Tanager, Black-and-Yellow Tanager and Slate-throated Gnatcatcher, many forest raptors and other wet foothills birds.
Includes: Certified Interpretive Guide, Transportation, Dugout Canoe & Captain, Entrance to Community, Accommodations, Meals
Duration – 3 Days & 2 Nights
Departure from Hotel – 5:00 AM