TOURISM Swiss style chalets
the highest region of Volcan, Bambito and Cerro Punta where the International Friendship Park (Parque Internacional de la Amistad, PILA) is home to the Resplendent Quetzal.
expansion are taking shape, the Panama Canal Authority has planned for two new visitors’ centres to be built, one at each end of the waterway, to allow tourists and Panamanians to experience the construction and expansion of the
A Panama Canal first-hand.
Although the idea had been conceived during the early days of the project planning process, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has kept it on hold until the construction began in full force. The Pacific centre will be located in Cocolí and will have a tower that will overlook the construction of the locks but its construction won’t begin before 2012. The centre on the Atlantic side, on the East side, is expected to be ready in 2012 since its construction is going at a good pace. That centre will also have a cafeteria, exhibitions and ecological trails. Meanwhile, the present Visitors’ Centre, on the east side of the Miraflores Locks, continues to offer the best view of ships transiting the waterway that can be found along the Panama Canal. The Centre was inaugurated on December 18, 2003 and receives a daily average of 1,000 visitors from all parts of the world. It is open seven days a week from 9am to 5pm.
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s the works on the Panama Canal
This corner of the province, as well as the famed Boquete’s valley and mountains, have been a refuge for leisure seekers who, whether from Panama City or nearby David – the capital of the
The Panama Canal visitors’ centres
unforgettable experience of being inside a navigation simulator and one of the lock culverts. This exhibition showcases Canal improvement, modernisation and maintenance projects while the last
Miraflores Visitor Centre
Visitors can see anywhere from one to three vessels, perhaps more, make the transit simultaneously. From the minute the vessel enters the locks, it takes approximately 40 minutes for the process to be completed. The Centre has exhibition halls organised by themes over four floors. The permanent exhibitions include historical objects of canal operations, interactive modules, video presentations, and models of the Panama Canal. The first exhibit hall presents the Canal history since the French attempt to build a waterway in the 1880s, and portrays the background, technological innovation and sanitary initiatives that went hand in hand with the construction of the canal. The second exhibit hall is dedicated to the source of life: water, conservation of the environment, protection of the canal watershed, and the diversity of fauna and flora. The third hall shows how the Canal operates, bringing the
exhibition describes the Canal expansion with an explanation on the construction of
the future third lane with larger locks that will allow the transit of post- Panamax vessels.
The Centre has also three observation areas located on the ground, first and fourth floors. Photos can be taken of the locks from their respective balconies. On the second floor, a restaurant is open to the public from noon until midnight and offers a splendid view of the vessels transiting the locks which is a stunning sight at night.
In addition, there is a 182-seat auditorium with full capacity for multimedia presentations.
General admission fee is US$8 for adults and US$5 for students and children under the age of 17. National and resident adults are charged US$3, retirees, US$1.5 and children under the age of 17, pay US$2. Open Monday to Sunday including holidays: Tel: (507) 276 8617. Ticket Office: 9:00am - 4:30pm. Exhibition halls: 9:00am - 5:00pm.
PANAMA MARITIME REVIEW 2011/12
province, have built beautiful haciendas and holiday-homes.
Before Panama City-dwellers rushed to the Pacific beaches, Chiriqui was the ‘must visit’ destination for Panamanian
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