Recently a group of students and David got the opportunity to visit Gamboa and the surrounding Soberania National Park. Soberania National Park is 25 kilometers from Panama City and covers 19,341 hectacers located at the basin of the Panama Canal. The park was established in 1980 and is home to a wide variety of creatures. There are 105 species of mammals, 525 species of birds, 79 different types of reptiles, 55 species of amphibians and 36 different species of fish that call the park home. There are three prominent nature trails that lead you through a beautiful humid forest comprised of cotton and mahogany trees as well as orchids, plums and palms.

Bird watchers flock to the Soberania National Park due the vast number of birds in residence. The Audubon Society recorded all 525 different species of bird in one day in 1996. The forest serves as a refuge for jaguars, monkeys and herds of wild pigs. A restored radar tower is home to the Canopy Tower eco lodge and allows you to wake up to “canopy” level view. The Gamboa Rainforest Resort is also located in the heart of the Panamanian rain forest. The resort provides an array of educational and adventure based experiences including tours of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute on Barro Colorado Island.

David managed to get this amazing video of a sloth while National Geographic was filming!