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GENERAL INFORMATION
DATE
DURATION
April 16th - 21st, 2026 (women-only)
May 1st - 6th, 2026 (mix group)
6 days
5 nights
GOALS
PACE
Excellent route to see and photograph the Harpy Eagle and other exotic birds.
Easy to moderate. Easy flat trail! Just one hour of smooth walking with plenty of breaks and beautiful sights on the way to the nest!
STARTS & ENDS
Panama City
PARTICIPANTS
6 + leader guide
TRAVEL INSURANCE
MEDICAL
We highly recommend getting insurance. It is important that the insurance covers trip cancellation and medical attention, as well
Inform your doctor about your trip. We will keep you informed about Brazilian and American requirements. More information can be found on the CDC website.
COST AND TERMS
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3,590 per person (sharing room) Single supplement: $450
PRICE
WHAT IS INCLUDED
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Road and canoe transportation as stated
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Accommodation as stated
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Meals as stated
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English-speaking Leader Guide
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Local guide when needed
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Transfers
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Water
- A deposit of $800 is required to reserve your spot.
- The rest of the payment should be done until 60 days priori the trip
- The payment can be made by wire transfer and all major credit cards
WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED
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International airfare and airport taxes
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Personal expenses
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Travel Insurance
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Tips
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Laundry
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Visa
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Alcohol beverages
Book
*Because of the currency, price is subject to slight change.
OVERVIEW
Darién National Park stands as Panama's untamed wilderness frontier, a vast roadless expanse of primary rainforest and winding rivers bridging Central and South America, where impenetrable canopy shelters over 500 bird species, 100 mammals, and a primal food chain crowned by the harpy eagle—the planet's most powerful raptor with talons rivaling grizzly bear claws. This biodiverse stronghold pulses with life: scarlet macaws explode in crimson flights over emerald ridges, keel-billed toucans clack through bromeliad-laden branches, and chestnut-capped puffbirds perch in stoic silence while spider monkeys swing in raucous troops and howler monkeys reverberate the dawn with guttural roars. Birding here demands immersion—Las Nubes draw jewel-like hummingbirds including snowy-bellied and white-vented plumeleteers alongside hepatic tanagers and black-cheeked woodpeckers, Bayano Lake lowlands yield jet antbirds and pearl kites from roadside edges, San Francisco Reserve reveal Darién great birds such as black hawk-eagle, barred puffbird, royal flycatcher, olivaceous piculet, and white-ruffed manakin, while Río Tortí trails expose black antshrike and Pacific antwren amid secondary growth. The pinnacle awaits at La Escondida Farm: an early motorized canoe glide up the Chucunaque River leads to a monitored harpy nest where an seven-month-old chick flexes wings around the nest as parents plunge from heights to snatch sloths and capuchins mid-air, delivering prey with surgical precision. Deeper incursions along El Salto Road uncover red-throated caracara, bare-crowned antbird, golden-green woodpecker, dusky antbird, and Choco sirystes in roadside clearings, with Yaviza wetlands adding spectacled parrotlet and capped heron en route to Metetí. The group will stay in comfortable local hotels—Avicar Hotel, Bellagio, and farm-based quarters—savoring regional plates of river-caught corvina grilled over open flames, sancocho de gallina enriched with yuca and culantro, and patacones crisp with sea salt, guided solely by an expert Emberá woman naturalist whose ancestral trails ensure intimate access to this living fortress of biodiversity.
DETAILED ITINERARY
Day 1 - Kick off your Panama adventure with a 6:00 AM pickup from your Panama City hotel, then settle in for the scenic eastward drive toward Tortí, scanning roadside forest edges and clearings for early sightings of chachalacas, flycatchers, and raptors wheeling overhead. First stop: the hummingbird haven at Comederos en Las Nubes in Cerro Azul, where feeders buzz with snowy-bellied, white-necked jacobin, long-billed hermit, and white-vented plumeleteer, joined by hepatic tanager, golden-hooded tanager, black-cheeked woodpecker, rufous motmot, and more in a one-hour frenzy of color and motion. Continue to Bayano Lake lowlands for roadside wetland scanning—jet antbird, cocoi heron, pied water-tyrant, yellow-hooded blackbird, and pearl kite patrol the shallows and forest margins during another focused hour. Reach Tortí around 3:00 PM and check into the welcoming Avicar Hotel, your comfortable base amid the eastern lowlands. Enjoy a hearty lunch at the hotel restaurant, then unwind with free time before an optional dusk-to-dark trail walk to seek mottled owl, spectacled owl, and common potoo. Dinner at 7:00 PM. Overnight at Avicar Hotel.
Day 2: Rise early at Avicar Hotel for a full-day immersion in the Darién lowlands, heading straight to the San Francisco Nature Reserve where a morning at the blind and surrounding trails delivers Darién specialties: black hawk-eagle, barred puffbird, tropical royal flycatcher, one-colored becard, olivaceous piculet, white-ruffed manakin, golden-fronted greenlet, dusky-faced tanager, streaked xenops, and great black hawk ruling the canopy. After a field lunch, transfer to the Río Tortí trails for targeted searching—black antshrike rattling from thickets, Pacific antwren foraging low, streak-headed woodcreeper spiraling trunks, plus gray-headed tanager and more in the humid riverine forest. Return to Avicar Hotel by 5:00 PM, time to relax on the veranda, review the day’s bird list over cold drinks, and tally new lifers with your guide. Dinner at 7:00 PM. Overnight at Avicar Hotel.
Day 3: Depart Avicar Hotel at dawn for the push deeper into Darién, birding strategically along the Pan-American Highway as forest gives way to open wetlands and scrub. First major stop: Yaviza Wetlands, where scopes sweep for spectacled parrotlet flocks wheeling over reedbeds, bicolored wren singing from fence lines, capped heron stalking shallow lagoons, striped cuckoo calling from scattered trees, plus ruddy-breasted seedeater, large-billed seed-finch, and any late migrant shorebirds. Continue to Metetí, check into the comfortable Hotel Bellagio, and head straight to Restaurant The Crowned for a well-earned lunch of fresh river fish and plantains. After refueling, dive into the afternoon at Filo de Tallo Reserve—prime edge habitat yielding black-chested jay, blue cotinga, white-eared cone-bill, yellow-green tyrannulet, and raptors like roadside hawk and crane hawk quartering the canopy. Back at Bellagio by 5:00 PM to kick off shoes, update checklists with your great guide, and watch the sky turn orange over the Tuira River. Dinner at 7:00 PM. Overnight at Hotel Bellagio.
Day 4: Rise before first light at Hotel Bellagio for the 5:30 AM departure—the day you’ve been waiting for: the Harpy Eagle quest. A one-hour drive delivers you to Yaviza, where motorized dugout canoes wait to glide silently with the current for 15 minutes up the mirror-calm Chucunaque River. Kingfishers flash ahead while pied water-tyrants flick along the banks.
Step ashore and trek one hour through La Escondida Farm’s towering old-growth forest. Don’t worry—this is an easy trail with frequent stops for rest and photos. Horses can also be hired (with advanced request) to carry you comfortably all the way to the harpy nest.
Arriving at the point of interest, settle into the blind and watch the seven-month-old chick stretch its wings, hop from branch to branch, and beg with piercing calls while one or both parents rocket in with a fresh meal clamped in talons the size of bear claws.
Midday lunch under the trees at La Escondida Farm: fresh corvina, rice, and patacones. Then shift to late-afternoon birding in nearby Sanzon Abajo for golden-collared manakin, black oropendola, and any lingering Darién endemics.
Motor back downriver as the sun drops, return to Metetí by dusk. Dinner at 7:00 PM. Overnight at Hotel Bellagio.
Day 5: Today we dive deeper into the heart of the Darién with a full-day focus on complementary bird sights, specializing in raptors and regional endemics. We’ll start early with a drive to El Salto Road, one of Panama’s premier roadside-birding hotspots, where secondary forest edges and canopy openings create perfect conditions for spotting some of the region’s most sought-after species. Along this quiet, bird-rich stretch we’ll enjoy incredible looks at Red-throated Caracara, Bare-crowned Antbird, Pale-billed Hermit, Golden-green Woodpecker, Dusky Antbird, White-bellied Antbird, Double-banded Greytail, Chocó Sirystes, Orange-crowned Oriole, and many more surprises that only the Darién can deliver. Expect a steady pace of exciting finds, excellent photo opportunities.
We’ll continue birding the road and adjacent trails through the afternoon, maximizing our time in this raptor-rich corridor where Harpy Eagle, Ornate Hawk-Eagle, and Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle occasionally soar overhead. By late afternoon we’ll begin our return drive, aiming to reach the hotel by dusk. Dinner will be served at 7:00 PM back at Hotel. Overnight at Hotel Bellagio.
Day 6: After breakfast, begin your return journey to Panama City, enjoying opportunistic stops along the way to capture any final wildlife sightings or scenic moments. If time permits, make a short visit to the Amador Causeway, a beautiful coastal area known for its shorebirds and panoramic views of the city and canal. Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant en route before transferring to your hotel or the airport for your departure.
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