04 Panama: Embera Indigenous Village Experience...

"I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list..." – Susan Sontag

(Welcoming dance by the pretty Embera girls)

Day 04: 22/06/25 (Sunday)
Tour: The Waterfall and Embera Indian Village Tour
Hotel: Hotel Casa Miller, Panama City

Mr Ruben the tour guide picked us up at the hotel and sent us to a coffee shop where we had our breakfast. He left to fetch other tourists from their hotels.

We drove out of town and headed towards the Chagres National Park through a scenic route. We later boarded a traditional dugout canoe and rode along the river with vibrant jungle vegetation. The canoe was manned by Emberá boatman. It was both thrilling and serene with close-up views of wildlife and the untouched landscapes of the park.

At one point of the river ride, we detoured for a hike to the waterfalls. It is not for the faint hearted as the path was quite slippery during the rainy season. The waterfall was not that big, but was worth a visit. Some of us went for a nice swim which was much needed after the sweating and humid hike.

After the refreshing swim and rest, we continued our canoe ride to visit one of the four Embera Indian Villages. There was a welcoming dance by a group of colorful dressed girls. We had a brief tour around the village and the community members proudly shared their ancestral stories, customs, and way of life. In one of the huts, there were beautiful assortment of souvenirs and handycrafts on display and some were for sale.

After the village tour, we were served lunch of fried fish or chicken, salad and variety of fresh tropical fruits.

We were later entertained with cultural songs and traditional dances. Some tourists had a small tribal tattoos done for a small tip.

We left the Embera Indian Village in a drizzling rain and reached our hotel around 4.30 pm.