About the Coffee & Flower Festival in Boquete, Panama

Last Friday I arrived in Panama again, hurray! Contrary to previous visits to the tropical archipelago of Bocas del Toro, this time I was bound to visit the little mountain town of Boquete.

Boquete sounds like…? Yes bouquet indeed! So its nickname “flower capital of Panama” seems about right. Flowers are all around indeed, but little did I know I planned my visit to Boquete during its busiest festival of the year… La Feria de las Flores y del Cafe (or the Boquete Cofee and Flower Fair)!

At first I was slightly shocked to see the amount of people walking around town. “Is Boquete really thís popular?! Que horrible” I thought. But quickly I learned from the owner of the lodge where I stayed at that each January the streets of this mountain town are flooded with thousands of tourists. Not just Panamanians like to visit the cute, little hillside town of Boquete, visitors from all over the world come here to taste the coffee and observe that flower galore. 

I wasn’t really sure if I felt lucky or not to experience this! 

You can only reach Boquete via the nearby big town of David. David’s the hub from where to jump into the highlands. This city is nothing more than a dusty transit hub, and therefore it’s surprising to see that with every kilometer/mile you’ll drive north towards the town of Boquete the surroundings will begin to feel more refreshing and lush. Flowers indeed appear everywhere and at some point it’ll even get cold in the bus. 

That said, although Boquete by day will reach a temperature of something like 23°C, but during the nights you really have to wear something warm. I was happy I hadn’t ditched my winter hiking outfits yet.

The town is located in the highlands of Chiriqui and way cooler because of the altitude. The volcanic ash in the region enriches the soil and therefore makes for a perfect and fertile climate for the coffee beans and all the fruits, veggies and flowers to grow.

All in all Boquete reminded me a lot of Monteverde in Costa Rica. If only because the activities (like hiking in the cloud forest, ziplining, coffee tours, butterfly farm visit) are more or less the same over here. 

So yes a fertile climate makes for the perfect conditions to hold a flower festival. This year the feria is organized from the 10th to the 20th of January for the 47th time (if I read those roman numbers correctly.. it’s been a while) and my hotel owner guaranteed me that upcoming weekend will even be busier. So brace yourself if you’re planning a visit. 

The fair is located on the eastern bank of the Boquete River. From the bridge you already have a nice view on the festivities ↓

There are something like 35 gardens, an orchid exhibition and some 200 stalls of local coffee and food producers and locals artists at the fair.

Although the gardens were pretty indeed, it’s not like I was stunned by them or something. But note that I’m Dutch and used to live quite close to the tulip fields in Holland, so that it would take a LOT of flowers fields to impress this gal. 

Apart from the flower galore I thought it was super cool to see the festivities ↓, to feel the cheerful vibe, enjoy the local dances, see all the locals making selfies next to the flowers, to browse the many stalls, eat some empanadas and churros con dulce de leche and especially to drink that local coffee!

The festival used to be nothing more than a coffee fair in the beginning of its existence. The flowers were just added to brighten up the scene along the way.

Luckily you can still get to know all kinds of local coffee brands. I used to be a slight coffee addict, as everyone around me will be able to attest, and when I was younger there was no living with me before I had my first cup of coffee in the morning (a sincere apology to my former roomies) and in Boquete my inner highly caffeinated self surely was awoken again. You basically can’t escape coffee in here! Even the tiniest hole-in-the-wall type of joint will serve you better coffee than you drink back home. George C. would approve.

Something else that’ll energize you for sure is this short zipline track ↓ You’ll slide along this lightened line over the fair, now how fun is that!

If you don’t like crowds try to visit the fair during the (week)day. It felt way more tranquil. I noticed that most of the visitors only begin to flock to the fair when it’s getting dark.

At the entree booth you’ll receive three tickets for $2,- USD / Panamanian Balboa total: one to enter the fair, one for an exhibition (within the fair) and one for the kermis for (big) kids on the north side of the fair. ↓

Also, last tip: bring some earplugs (!!!). You’ll for sure have to sacrifice a bit of sleep if you want to stay in town during the fair. The stereo systems will blast the town away ’til the late hours of the night. As I’m writing this piece around 11 pm on a Sunday evening I can almost feel the nearby vibrations bouncing through the walls of my hotel. Luckily the coffee would have kept me awake anyway :).  

Here another video impression:

Don’t despair though if you won’t be able to visit Boquete during the fair; flowers and coffee will always be around in the little town :).

Here’s where to find the fair across the bridge: