Travelling westwards from the Canal on the Panamerican Highway you are in a very varied Panama, with low hills and high mountains to explore, beaches to laze on, and towns and villages that make their livelihood mostly from farming. Its a lovely area for touring and exploring.
David and the Chiriquí Highlands
Eventually the highway reaches the city of David below the Chiriquí Highlands-some of Panama's greatest scenic pleasures with coffee plantations, fields filled with orange trees or dotted with dairy herds, and misty cloud forests with tumbling mountain streams.
Volcán Barú
In these highlands, the towering Volcán Barú, the highest point in Panama at 3475m, offers spectacular views of both the Pacific and Atlantic on clear days. To the east, amid the greenery, the picturesque town of Boquete has an alpine feel harking back to its European heritage. A handful of charming lodges make this a good base for exploring the area, which has some great walking and birdwatching trails. It is one of the most reliable places in the country to see the Resplendent Quetzal.
La Amistad International Park
Straddling the border with Costa Rica, La Amistad International Park boasts an extraordinary level of biodiversity and a wildlife population that includes black-handed spider monkeys, tapir and five species of cat.