The closest set of canal locks to Panama City and in many ways the most impressive, these twin-flight locks at the Pacific entrance to the canal are an engineering marvel and justifiably the most visited site in the country.

Stretching for more than 1.7 kilometres including the approach channel ten scale of the locks is humbling, reducing the visitor’s perspective to an ant’s as cruise ships and super-tankers the height of a ten-storey building ease past at fingertip distance. While the lift of the other two locks is fixed, the lift at Miraflores varies between 13 metres and 19 metres due to the extreme tides of the Pacific Ocean.

Enhancing the experience immeasurably, the state-of-the-art visitor centre opened in December 2003 on the east side of the Miraflores Locks. The centre has a 182-seat theatre, plus four exhibition halls with dioramas, interactive displays, and video presentations themed by floor. Displays cover the history and ecology of the canal.