Boquete

The district of Boquete is located in the province of Chiriqui in Panama and his name is often used for its capital Boquete used. Boquete has about 15,700 inhabitants (2000) and extends over 514 km².

The highlands in Boquete are of volcanic origin and reach heights of up to 3000 meters in the north and up to 800 meters in the south. The highest peaks are Cerro Palo Alto, Pianista, India Vieja and Estrella.

The almost legendary, demanding Quetzal Trail connects two parallel valleys from here, with Bajo Boquete on the one hand and Cerro Punta on the other. A good 2500 hikers undertook this tour in 2002; over 80% of them were Panamanians. As the name suggests, there is a chance here of encountering the famous quetzal bird in the cloud forest . According to the government's plans, the two valleys are now to be linked by a road. The official aim is to promote tourism. The nature lovers in the area collected over 60,000 signatures against this project in mid-August 2003, because the previously untouched cloud forest is one of the few retreats in the Quetzal and thus one of the main attractions of the area.

Near Bajo Boquete, in the village of Caldera , about 15 minutes south on the road to Davíd, are the natural hot springs of Las Salinas . They are privately owned, but can be visited for a small fee. Right next to it flows the cool Caldera River, which runs through the district.

The Volcán Barú (3475 m above sea level) is also in the region, as is the Parque Internacional La Amistad National Park .