Quite close to Panama City you’ll find the sleepy mountain village of El Valle de Anton. ‘A sleepy town’ may not sound all too exciting perhaps, but wait for it… El Valle de Anton is located on the inside of an extinct volcano crater. And that’s as cool it sounds in my opinion!
Apart from its smashing location El Valle also has a way cooler type of climate, compared to Panama City. It is therefore a favourite weekend escape among the Panamanians and expats from ‘The Ciudad’.
This fresh environment also makes a perfect haven for flowers and butterflies, as you can see from my pictures. Moreover, the hills of the volcano rim are dotted with hiking trails, hot springs and waterfalls.
So you can imagine this is a superb spot for those in need of a tranquil moment, close yet farrr away from the busy city center.
I stayed in El Valle for four days and although most folks only visit the valley for a few hours, I think it’s worth a longer stay. If only to unwind a bit.
Here’s some cool things to do in the area!
Rent a bicycle!
You know why El Valle is so great to explore on a bicycle? It’s as flat as a pancake (or.. as Holland, to give a comparison to my fellow countryman)! Gorgeous views on the surrounding rims are all around, no matter what street you’re about to cycle.
I had the feeling that most of the locals go around by bike as well.
Note that the main road isn’t that interesting to cycle, but the town’s outer streets are pretty cool and deserted. I cycled rather aimlessly and turned at every corner that just seemed pretty enough to explore.
You can rent bikes at Bodhi Hostel for $2,- USD an hour or $6,- USD for half a day.
See the sunset @ La India Dormida
As this town’s surrounded by a crater rim, you can basically enjoy the sunset from many places, but a famous spot is La India Dormida (literally: The Sleeping Indian). The peak is named as such as some people think this particular spot looks like the figure of a sleeping indigenous woman. I couldn’t really see the resemblance myself, but I’m sure I missed out on something.
Anyway, the hike is quite short (something like 1,5 hours), but very steep. So bring sturdy shoes and enough water. If you want to hike to the top around sunset, don’t forget to bring a proper flashlight and jacket either.
As this trail is infamous for robberies, I’d absolutely recommend you to go with a local, also during the brighter hours of the day. Especially solo female travellers (yep, that’s me) are known to be robbed or worse in here. So always go with a group and preferably with a guide. The trail isn’t clearly marked either, so it can be challenging anyway.
If you want to arrange a guide, check out the black board in the lounge of the Bodhi Hostel. Over here, a couple times per week hikes are organized to the summit of La India Dormida for $12,- USD (which I joined!).
I really liked the hike; we had a fun group, the guide brought along his dog (dohhh) and the views on both the crater valley and its hinterland were smashing.
Other famous spots to see the sunset are Cerro Cara Iguana or Cerro Gaital. Again, consider taking a guide for any of these hikes!
Hiking @ El Macho Waterfall
The El Macho waterfall is the biggest in the area. I personally cycled to this place, which was tough as it was uphill. I’ve seen loads of waterfalls and though El Macho may not have been the most impressive, I still really liked the area. You have to pay $5,- USD to get in.
Upon entering they gave me a wooden walking pole, so I expected it so be a tricky trail. But nope, the hike is just super small and well-maintained for a big audience.
Fun are the high suspension rope bridges through the forest though. I saw many locals making extensive photoshoots over here. Moreover, there’s a second short trail that leads to a swimming area, so bring your bikini!
Learn all about butterflies @ The Butterfly Farm
Rainy day? Go to The Butterfly Farm and learn all about these beauties. The mariposario (butterfly place in Spanish) is divided into three areas.
In the first room you’ll encounter all the butterflies, yippie! Some 250 fellows are flying around over there. The guide will take you through all the life stages and the peculiarities of each species. In the second room it’s all about caterpillars and ultimately the guide’ll show you a video about the transformation.
You can see all of the mariposario in something like 30 minutes, so don’t expect great things, but again I thought it was well worth the $5,- USD.
There’s also a serpentarium (a place where they have snakes) on the edge of town. I’ve myself seen enough of those in Costa Rica, plus they give me nightmares, but I’d suggest to check it out if you’re interested in them or if it just keeps on raining! 🙂
Apparently you can even hold a big boa in here (brrr).
Get your daily dose of vitamin C @ El Mercado
Smack in the middle of town you’ll find the big market of El Valle. It’s lively and it’s divided into a fruit and vegetable section and an artisanal market. As El Valle sees many visitors in the weekend, the market is even bigger during those days. A great place to get your bananas and maracuyas!
Soak it up @ the hot springs
I didn’t jump in the pools in here myself (I just visited the place), but the thermal waters (or pozos termales in Spanish) of El Valle might be a great place to go if you’re suffering from muscle ache. Or fatigue. Or if you just like to feel warm again. You can also exfoliate your skin with some natural mud in here!
Where to stay?
There are quite some expensive and fancy lodges in El Valle. If you can spare more or less $100,- USD for a room per night, I’d go to The Golden Frog Inn. It just looked super nice and I also heard great stories about it.
I (solo, budget backpacker on this trip) personally stayed in the dorm of Bodhi Hostel for $15,- USD a night. They have privates for $40,- USD as well. The place is a bit run down and the dorm is massive (27 beds! triple bunkbeds!), but the atmosphere was just really relaxed. Moreover it’s located right in the center along the main road. The coffee is great, you get free pancakes in the morning and they organize hikes to several spots in the valley a couple times per week.
Where to eat?
I’m not much of a guide on this front, as I ate at El Camino del Inca almost every day. They have a superb daily lunch deal over there. For $4,80 USD you get a full plate of rice ‘n beans, fish / chicken or meat, a salad and a glass of juice next to it. So fellow backpacker, this is the spot.
But I visited other places (Bruschetta and Carlitos) in town as well, just because they have a high rating on Tripadvisor, but I wasn’t impressed at all unfortunately. The food was quite expensive and not that tasty either.
A local expat also told me that the pizzas at Buon Appetito are very recommendable. I drove by, but it was closed at the time of my visit, but I could see it has a nice and tranquil garden, so try it out if you want!
Hope this helped you out! Here’s where to go in El Valle:
