Gamboa Rainforest Mega Combo

This tour begins with a tram ride through the rainforest—you’ll ascend some 280 feet from the shadowy forest floor to the sunny forest canopy. Along the way, enjoy one-of-a-kind looks into the trees and search for birds, butterflies, sloths, and monkeys.

After the tram ride is over, you’ll visit the orchid garden and marvel at the unique coloring of these incredible flowers. You’ll then explore the butterfly house, serpentarium, and fresh water aquarium. These exhibits are meant to provide you with a better understand of (and appreciation for) Panama’s flora and fauna.

Lunch will then be had at the Los Lagartos Restaurant, which has wonderful views of the Chagres River.

The tour ends with a visit the Miraflores Locks. These locks are the foremost locks on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal. They raise ships 60 feet (18 m) through two steps.

The Panama Canal is one of the world’s most impressive engineering feats. The canal extends 80 kilometers (50 mi) from Panama City on the Pacific Ocean to Colón on the Caribbean Sea. It’s built at one of the lowest and narrowest points in Panama, and runs right through the Continental Divide. More than 14,000 ships pass through the canal annually, carrying some 300 million tons of cargo. As such, the Panama Canal is one of the largest generators of income for Panama—in 2011, the canal generated $800 million, some two percent of the country’s GDP.

The Soberanía National Park is one of Panama’s finest birding sites. Its 55,000 acres (22,000 ha) extend along the shores of the Panama Canal and protect a bounty of important species. The park is a short drive from Panama City and as such is the country’s most accessible tropical forest.