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Monkeys and birds are tropical Panama’s most visible wildlife species in Barro Colorado.

Barro colorado, Panama. It remained open only to scientists until recently, but now this island in the Gatun Lake has joined the list of Panama’s tourist attractions for day-trippers. The option is simply the very best for nature lovers and whoever wants to get a clearer picture of how this world used to be in the dawn of mankind.

Barro Colorado (Red Clay) is not an island like any other. Just imagine that when the Panama Canal was being built and the level of water in the lake started to rise, scientists realized that over the top of the peaks jutting out of the surface and the forests along the shore, there were major tropical spaces featuring vast assortments of insects, plants, trees, mammals, birds and a whole lot more worth a good look into for the sake of mankind. Then in 1923, a biological station was set up on the premises by the Smithsonian Institute of Tropical Research –one of the most important centers for the study of natural life in the U.S. and in the world. The island has been recognized as a huge outdoor lab and the research studies conducted there have prompted hundreds of publications on a variety of topics, from the interaction between wasps and fig trees, the breeding habits of toads and their relationship with bats, the adaptation of a species of pilgrim hawk that found abundance of snails and other foodstuffs in this area and stopped traveling long miles during the summer and settled down there. Each and every one of this stories are within the visitors’ reach and even though they’ll just have a few hours for a good look around, they could indeed share views with the resident scientists and receive firsthand information for a better understanding of nature and the best ways to protect it. The trip to Colorado starts in Panama City. Down the road, travelers should drive to Gamboa, at the edge of the inter-oceanic canal, where they must take the motorboat to their final destination. On the island, scientists have a comfortable villa equipped with everything they need to live and work there; visitors, for their part, are given the chance to live an unforgettable adventure. From the moment they walk down the two paths open to tourists –Fausto and Donato, among many others open only to researchers– they immediately get in contact with a world of untapped nature brimming with monkeys, spiders, ocelots, birds and even pumas. The characteristic sounds of a jungle give the visit a mystic halo as emotions get unleashed. The gripping feeling of strolling into the jungle is one of a kind, no matter how close from the city travelers might really are. During the hike down any of the two paths, a little detour off the beaten track takes us in front of an overwhelming tree that stands majestically tall and whose roots appear to embrace us. The photo op here is something none of the visitors to Barro Colorado lets go by. The real size of all human beings and all the grandeur of the knowledge they have amassed through all these centuries, get lost for an insignificant moment before the beauty, strength and mightiness of Mother Nature. Covered with nearly 4,000 acres of tropical woodlands, this Panamanian National Monument continues to be one of the greatest centers for wildlife studies on the face of the earth. Researchers and botanists from all over the planet have been the island’s only dwellers over the past two decades, so swinging by for a closer look is a genuine privilege too hard to pass up. The deep, humid and mysterious forest displaying its array of greenish shades is a breathtaking view. The giant trees treasure an absolutely stunning life, so intact, in which all elements are interconnected in a slow, powerful way, so indifferent to the perishable world that stands a few miles beyond its boundaries. Nature seems to have come from a time before the existence of mankind. It seems as if this unspoiled space still has the end of time ahead of it. Tourist exploitation of Barro Colorado is ruled by several guidelines, with a minimal human presence per session established. Thus, the marketing of the location is always coordinated and programmed with the consent of the research center, always in the best interest of this natural wonder of Panama.

In 1923, a biological station was set up on the premises by the Smithsonian Institute of Tropical Research –one of the most important centers for the study of natural life in the U.S. and around the world