Early in the morning we are picked up at the lobby of our hotel by an Ancon Expeditions of Panama Naturalist Guide and transferred to El Corotu on the shores of Madden Lake.  The main reservoir of drinking water for the cities of Panama and Colon, Madden Lake also supplies 40% of the water required for the operation of the Panama Canal.  Here, we board a motorized piragua (dugout canoe) and travel up the Chagres River to the Embera indigenous village of Embera Drua. 

The boat journey takes us through the rainforest of the 320,000-acre Chagres National Park, which is the largest of the National Parks protecting the Panama Canal Watershed.   Along the Chagres River, we may be able to spot Little Blue and Green Heron, Great Egret, Anhingas, Neotropical Cormorant, Amazon, Ringed, and Green Kingfishers, along with Keel-billed Toucans and Ospreys flying above. At the Embera village we will be greeted with dancing and music.

We will learn about Embera customs and their relationship with nature.  Therewill be handcrafts available for sale and we will have a chance to be painted with the traditional jagua, a natural dye the Embera use to adorn their bodies.  After a picnic lunch we visit the nearby waterfall where we can take a dip in the crystal-clear waters of the Chagres River before heading back to Panama City.

WHAT TO BRING: Binoculars, camera, cap or hat, sunscreen lotion, insect repellant, light clothing (t-shirt and shorts), light raincoat, good traction footwear, bathing suit and towel. Cash in small denominations is suggested if interested in purchasing handicrafts.

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