Spinning a magical mystery tour of homespun art and tribal traditions, river trips into Darien’s interior provide an intriguing insight into the region’s rich indigenous culture, while the fantastic journeys also guarantee astonishing wildlife viewing. The experience is one of the most rewarding to be had in the country.

The Embera-Wounaan peoples originated in Colombia and have lived in the forests of Darien for at least two centuries as hunter-gatherers. Only in recent decades have they begun to settle in villages scattered throughout the province.

The 2,880-square-kilometre Comarca Embera Cemaco, with 28 native communities, occupies the Chucunaque-Tuira river basin in the northeast. The wide Rio Tuira twists in great loops, linking isolated communities.