El Valle de Anton

El Valle de Anton is the largest continually inhabited volcanic crater in the World. It's nestled in the second largest volcano (extinct) in the world. A five by three mile crater created when a volcano blew its top off five million years ago. The result was a lovely steep valley surrounded by jagged mountain peaks and rich volcanic soil that gives way to flowers and green forest as a result - ideal for exploring ancient (11,000 years old) historic paths. The local community is mainly descendant of the Guaymi Indian Tribe.

A major draw to El Valle is the market held every Sunday morning in a market hall on the main road. You can buy directly from the Indian artisans themselves. Apart from vegetables, fruit, plants and flowers you can buy handicrafts such as wooden bowls, paintings on wood, hammocks, molas, baskets and ceramics.

There is no real center to the town but most tourists like to go and take a look at the square trees, and golden frogs which can be found on the grounds of the Hotel El Campestre. Another place to see golden frogs is at El Nispero, a small zoo with a wide selection of native animals and birds. The are streams and the backdrop of the hills is very dramatic. The zoo is another great location to see the Golden Frog with black spots that lives only in this region and is in danger of extinction.

Another popular activity is the canopy zipline ride where you can whiz through the forest in a harness through the canopy of a rain forest ending over a waterfall. In addition you can hike the cloud forests of Gaital National Monument nature preserve where you will observe wildlife and learn more about the habitat.

A hike to the top of Sleeping Indian Woman is highly recommended. The mountain is known as La India Dormida and yoou can definitely see the mountain from town. It looks exactly like a sleeping Indian woman and has a legent attached. The hike takes about 3 hours and includes spectacular views of the valley, a waterfall and a tour of a native sugar cane mill. At the end you can cool offf in a natural swimming pool.

El Valle is one of Panama's best birding areas and you will enjoy birds going in any of the hikes or just walking around town.

Thermal Hot Waters and Mud baths can be found for just $1.00. Here you can indulge in therapeutic volcanic mud bath and you can even buy some to take home. This place is always filled with Europeans and Americans and has definitely got to be the best bargain. Just past the thermal baths you can find the entrance to Piedra Pintada: large pre-Columbian drawings of figures on huge boulders. There are no official archaeological explanations of these petroglyphs yet.

There are quite a few stores that have opened as a result of the tourist visits and there are many restaurants that you can go to have lunch for under $4.00. There are also many restaurants located in the hotels that offer a full variety of menus.