! Venga a conocer una de las maravillas del Mundo (THE PANAMA CANAL) además disfrutar del movimiento Turístico y crecimiento de la Economía Panameña!



! Come, meet one of the wonders of th world (THE PANAMA CANAL) and also enjoy the movement city and growth of the Panamanian economy!

Localización

INTRODUCTION:

Panama means & quot;the place of abundant fish" but people like to say that everything is found in abundance here. And it's true, as visitors will quickly discover for themselves. You'll find an abundance of wildlife in Panama's many national parks, an abundance of white sand beaches, hundreds of islands, more banks and shops than you would have dreamed possible, the Panama Canal, and , of course, a fantastic quantity of fresh seafood, including fish.

 

As the land bridge connecting North and  South America, Panama is home to an amazing diversity of wildlife. Almost 1 ,000 birds are known to reside, or migrate through, Panama. At the famed Pipeline Road, a Mecca for birders, records are routinely set in the Audubon Society's Christmas bird count. Panama is home to 220 species of mammals (including six species of wild cats), 354 reptiles and amphibians, 1 ,500 species of diurnal butterflies and a thousand species of orchids. In the warm waters of both oceans, the snorkeling and diving are unexcelled. Naturally, many visitors come to take advantage of Panama's abundant ecotourism opportunities.

You'll be fascinated by the Panama Canal, the eighth wonder of the world, where visitors can watch, from comfortable bal- conies, as cruise ships and freighters pass through the locks. Panama has a fine collection of museums, dedicated to the building of the Canal, to the colonial Spanish era and entire span of the country's history, to archaeology and to marine and terrestrial ecology. There are a number of historic areas, such as the ruins of the colonial capitol, the charming, French-style sector of Panama City called Casco Viejo, and the Spanish fortresses and custom house in Portobelo, all of which have been declared World Cultural Patrimony by the United Nations.

 

Many visitors will be surprised by Panama City's skyline of towering skyscrapers, which can be seen from far out in the Pacific Ocean. A bustling center of finance and trade, the city is home to about 120 banks and features innumerable shops filled with the world's finest merchandise. Thanks to low import duties and large volume, prices in Panama City's shops are almost unbelievably low. Two famous shopping districts are the Via España and the Avenida Central, 20 blocks of non-stop shopping. The city, long accustomed to accommodating international palates, offers a tremendous variety of business in its many fine restaurants.

Hotel accommodations are excellent, ranging from internationally recognized names to smaller, boutique inns. Many hotels offer light gambling in casinos and the city is famed for its lively nightlife of discotheques and shows. Panama City is also well equipped to handle all types of conferences and conventions. In the heart of the city and facing the ocean is the beautiful Atlapa Convention Center, with 3,200 square meters of exhibit space and meeting facilities for up to 5,000 people. The Center's theater sponsors a fide variety of cultural events.

Old Panama (Panamá "La Vieja")

About two miles from the center of Panama City are found the ruins of the first capital, known as Old Panama or Panama La Vieja, founded in 1519. Fragments of walls and arches stand in an open park, recalling the splendor of the Spaniard's first settlement on the Pacific Ocean. From here, expeditions were mounted to conquer the Inca Empire of South America. All of the wealth from Peru, Chile and California flowed to Spain through Old Panama. Not surprisingly, the enormous quantities of gold attracted pirates like sharks to Panama's waters. When Henry Morgan looted the city in 1671, Panama's governor ordered the powder magazine burned and the whole city went up in flames. The capital was moved two miles to the west, and present-day Panama City was founded in 1673. The most impressive structures remaining are the cathedral, with a massive bell-tower, and the Bishop's House. In front of the ruins, alongside the ocean, is an artisan's market, full of native crafts, and a small restaurant with a fine view out to a bay where Spanish galleons and pirate ships once lifted sail.

Casco Viejo

Also known as Colonial panama, Casco Viejo is the historic center of today's capital. It is a quiet, charming district of narrow streets overlooked by the flower bedecked balconies of two and three-story houses. At its tip lies French Park, a monument to the French builders who began the Panama Canal, and the lovely French Embassy. On the walkway around the monument, visitors have a fine view of the Amador Causeway and Bridge of the Americas, and of Panama City's skyscraper skyline to the east. A plaque on the walkway commemorates the firing of canon shots to drive away a Colombian warship and consolidate Panama's independence from Colombia in 1903.

To one side of the monument is an old Spanish structure called Las Bovedas now used as an art gallery and French restaurant. Some excellent museums are found in the Casco Viejo, including the Canal Museum, which traces Panama's history as the route connecting Atlantic and Pacific from pre-Hispanic to modern times. Next door is the Museum of National History and the old cathedral, with gleaming spires inlaid with mother-of-pearl. 

Click above to take a visual tour of Panama!