Gatun Lake Panama Canal
48
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
Lindblad Expeditions (45 Cruises)
National Geographic Quest
45 Cruises
| 27 November | 8 days | One-way from land tour to Panama City |
450-628-6241
Call us
|
| 27 November | 7 days | One-way from Puntarenas to Panama City |
450-628-6241
Call us
|
Frequently Asked Questions
Through the Gatún locks at dawn: three successive chambers lift it about 26 metres above sea level, up to a lake set in the middle of the Panamanian forest. It then anchors, and excursions leave by boat from the ship.
The heart of the Panama Canal, and a lake that did not exist a little over a century ago. By damming the Chagres river in 1913, the canal's builders flooded an entire valley and created what was then the largest artificial lake in the world. Hills became islands.
Wildlife cruising among the islets is the signature excursion: local boats collect passengers from the anchorage. White-faced capuchins come down to the low branches, howlers announce themselves with their hoarse roar, and you spot sloths, iguanas, toucans, caimans and freshwater turtles.
Morning, when the jungle is at its most active. Sound carries far over the water: a kingfisher's dive is audible at a hundred metres, and everyone ends up lowering their voice without being asked.
Yes, surprisingly close: it is used to boat traffic. The naturalist guides, binoculars around their necks, know where to look. That said, no sighting is guaranteed — this is a forest, not a zoo.
One of the drowned hills turned island, home for a century to a Smithsonian research station where scientists from around the world study the tropical environment.
Yes, at the Agua Clara observation centre on the lakeshore, facing the giant locks opened in 2016. You watch new-generation ships rise toward the lake, and the exhibits recount the titanic construction of the early twentieth century.
Yes, some itineraries offer a dugout canoe trip up the Chagres river to an Emberá village, where music, dance and crafts open a window onto the country's Indigenous cultures.
Water, a hat and insect repellent. The humid heat is constant and there is no escaping it. Plan to be on the open decks late in the day too: the return through the three chambers is best experienced outside.
No. The ship anchors in the middle of an artificial lake surrounded by forest: there is no town, no shop and no pier. Everything happens from the ship, by boat excursion.
