Hiking through the jungle in Panama City, Panama

Metropolitan Natural Park is a rain forest in Panama City, Panama and is the only wildlife refuge in the city. The park has five trails that covers about 5km (3 mi.) of land. When you need a break from the hustle and bustle, this is a great park to visit within city limits.

There are signs throughout the park that show each trail and where the lookout points are located. Although the paths are well paved, it’s still helpful to have the signage along the way.

This is a small turtle pond at the beginning of the hike.

There were so many turtles in the pond, so it was fun to stop and check out and get pictures of them up close! For the most part, they didn’t get scared away. They stood their ground and posed nicely for the camera!

Some portions of the trail nearing the highest point in the park are steep, but even the hardest parts are not too difficult and are short-lived. The uphill walking is definitely a good workout for your legs!

This is the view from Mirador, the highest point in the park and the second highest point in the city. (The top of Ancon hill is the highest point in the city, which I covered in a separate blog.) This has to be my favorite picture that I took at Mirador.

In the distance on the right of the photograph, you can see Centennial Bridge (Puente Centenario), one of the major bridges that crosses the Panama Canal along with the Bridge of the Americas.

My favorite landscape to photograph is cities, but it’s always nice to get out in nature too. It was interesting to get pictures from here because you’re able to capture the modern buildings through the thick of the jungle, which makes for a unique perspective of the city that you wouldn’t see otherwise.

As you can see from this picture, Mirador has ample benches to sit on and take in the view. I sat down and meditated here for a while before hiking back down. For me, it’s always inspiring to take in the view of cityscapes from afar.

This is what your surroundings look like when you’re hiking through part of the loop. When you are out there on the trails, you can really feel that you are walking through a jungle. The park is home to 284 different kinds of trees.

Overall, Metropolitan Natural Park offers a great view of Panama City and makes for a peaceful hike through protected, untouched land. I got there at 8:30 AM and finished the hike before 11 AM, and there were plenty of people just starting the hike when I was leaving. With that said, I recommend getting there early in the morning when the trails are not heavily trafficked. When you’re in Panama City, making time to visit this park is worth it.