The Darien region of Panama is the largest province in Panama (over 6,400 sq miles), yet it is also the least explored and the least populated with just 40,000 indigenous people spread out among small villages. To open an operation like the Canopy Camp you need someone with incredible vision, and that man of course is Raul Arias de Para, founder of the iconic Canopy Tower and Canopy Lodge. Always having a vision to expand his Canopy Family into the remote Darien region of Panama, his dream came true when he bought property here in September of 2011. After years of hot labor and trying logistics, the Canopy Camp was opened in 2012 and remains one of Panama’s most unique and off-the-grid hotels. Featuring just eight, custom designed African safari-style luxury tents this is a destination for hardcore nature lovers and birders. The tents are built on elevated platforms to keep you high and dry off the floor of the rainforest and offer a surprising amount of creature comforts. Each tent features large windows on all sides for cross-ventilation, teak wood floors, ceiling light, bed lamps, floor fan, private bathroom with flush toilet and an outdoor shower. After a day of touring relax on your own private covered porch with lounge chairs. Due to the extreme remoteness of the hotel all meals are included in your package and no kids under 13 are allowed.

This Darien region is so remote the Pan-American Highway actually ends here, the only section missing connecting North America to South America which led to the common nickname of the ‘Darien Gap.’ The lack of development certainly has it’s benefits however as the Darien is home to the largest national park Central America, the 1.4 million acre Darien National Park. The park was proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1980 and is home to incredible swaths of primary and secondary rainforest, hundreds of birds, mammals, and reptiles. Routinely named one of the best birding destinations in the world, bird watchers can spot scarlet macaws, toucans, manakins, fly catchers, and the national bird of Panama – the harpy eagle – to name a few. Mammals big and small call this rainforest home such as sloths, coatis, monkeys, deer, tapir, and cats like ocelots and the mighty jaguar. Your expert naturalist guides will lead you on hikes through the rainforest or driving tours in their customized 4×4 open-air birding vehicle. If you need a change of pace for a day you can visit a local Embera indigenous village or do a horseback riding tour through the jungle.