Outsizing all other national parks throughout Central America, Darien has earned a reputation for some of the region’s best wildlife viewing. Form tiny poison dart frogs to the world’s  largest eagle, this foreboding mini-Amazon is a crown jewel of rain forest and wetland biota whose enormous appeal is well worth the discomforts of sodden humidity and rains.

A vast oasis of biodiversity, the park was established in 19890 to protect 5,791 square kilometres of lowland rain forest, as well as a range of other life zones extending from mangrove and cativo swamps to premontane rain forest atop 1,875-metre Cerro Tacarcuna. Stretching virtually the length of the Panamanian-Columbian border, entire sections of the park are infiltrated by guerrillas, narco-traffickers, and bandits, and travel outside established secure zones is dangerous. Under all circumstances, travel should be only with a knowledgeable guide and reputable tour company.

Declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1981 and a Biosphere Reserve in 1982, this lush biological Eden boasts wildlife in astounding abundance. Darien hosts viable populations of 56 species endangered elsewhere in the continent.