Striking for its charming colonial plaza providing a whitewashed way station at the base of the Cordillera Central, otherwise hurly-burly Penonome is a handy springboard for exploring the mountain parks that rise north and east.

The provincial capital of Penonome was founded in 1581 as a reduccion de indios, an area where Indians were resettled to form a pool for forced labour. This prosperous agricultural town is known for its straw hats. Though the town whirls in a contemporary commercial vortex, it retains an exquisite colonial plaza: Parque 8 de Diciembre, shaded by blossoming flame trees and with a bandstand at its heart. The modest Iglesia San Juan Bautista, on the plaza’s north side, boasts beautiful stained glass.

The small Museo de Penonome, in a row of four charming blue-and-white eighteenth century cottages, has pre-Columbian ceramics, colonial religious icons, and exhibits on local architecture and archaeology.