Los Quetzales Trail

Los Quetzales station to begin a day of hiking.

Since arriving in Boquete, I have heard about people hiking up the Volcán Barú or the Los Quetzales Trail. Volcán Barú is the tallest mountain in Panama and 3,474 meters (11,398 ft) high. A dormant volcano but potentially active it is surrounded by a fertile area of cool highlands drained by the Chiriqui and Caldera rivers. The towns of Volcán and Cerro Punta are on its western side, while Boquete is on the eastern flank. The last major eruption of the volcano was about 500 AD. There are reports and some evidence of a minor eruption around 1550 AD. However, in 2006, an earthquake swarm occurred underneath the mountain, raising fears that it could erupt sometime in the future with explosive force (http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1401); the volcano has collapsed in the past. Due to its height and Panama's relatively short width; it is possible to see both the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea from Volcán Barú's peak on a clear day. The occasional fall of snow has been reported on the summit, where the minimal temperature can be below 0°C (32°F) and the formation of frost is frequent during the dry season.

The Quetzales Trail is another section in the Volcán Barú National Park. It can be a less strenuous hike than the one leading up to it, the Volcan Baru Trail. Some hikers begin their hike in Cerro Punta because it is a downward trail ending in the Boquete Highlands. Some say it is easier than walking up begin the trail in Boquete, the Bajo Mono area ending up in the Cerro Punta trail of the Los Quetzales. Whether one chooses to trek up or down the Los Quetzales Trail it be may be a challenge.

Since my leg is still in the healing stage and healing very, very quickly going on this hike with my two friends was out of the question. I would have loved to experience this hike – but it will happen sometime in the future.

Our friend Remi has been trying to organize a group to hike up to the Volcan Baru but without any luck in doing so - for now he has settled on a Los Quetzales Trail trek. People who love a challenge as Remi does and as other avid hikers cannot pass up the hike to the Volcan Baru, the hard trail to Bocas del Toro, or the Los Quetzales Trail these are just a few trails to explore. In Panama, many more trails exist throughout the country for the avid trekker as well as trails for the not so experienced trekker.

We drove our two friends Remi Bodet and Gordon Chu to Cerro Punta it was a beautiful sunny Saturday morning – one could not have picked a most perfect day to go hiking on the Quetzales mountain trail. While driving to our destination we passed the towns of Volcan and Bambito the countryside is wonderfully picturesque with many different tints of green dotting the hillsides and mountains. Livestock graze through green pastures, this is where the majority of the produce is grown for the rest of Panama. Even so, it still boasts a most colorful countryside and natural habitat.

At ten o’clock in the morning we left our friends at the entrance to the Los Quetzales Trail in Cerro Punta bidding both a safe hike and would see them in the Boquete Highlands at the entrance of the trail around four that afternoon. Attempting to call both before leaving Cerro Punta and Volcan making sure all was well it turned out to be fruitless. Cell phone service at the location is obsolete.

For this posting Gordon Chu took the majority of the photos and a few by Remi Bodet - thank you both for letting me use them.

We had heard several versions of the Los Quetzales Trail that one it was in good condition the other being it was very rough, slippery, and not in very good condition since the storm some months back had washed out parts of the trail. In spite of all the talk, these two men persevered. I must mention when this hike was in the planning stages about five to six people going but some decided not to take a chance.

As the four o’clock hour approached, Remi and Gordon made it back sooner then we had expected and we caught up with the two along the road. Walking back to Boquete town is a long walk. Bus service is very limited forget about taxi service. They were glad to see us, Gordon waving his arms as we approached and Remi up the road walking as fast as he could. Both were wet from the Bararenque (a very light misty rain) it had just started and very common up in the highlands. Both men describe the trail as “very rough” in some areas. On a scale of one to ten, I asked how they would rate it both agreed a seven. Some trails were “very narrow”, while the series of staircases scale the steepest terrains, and present the greatest obstacles, there are large boulders to climb over or around. Ongoing exposure to moisture has rotted wood, and steps were frequently missing. The terrain varied but always-verdant forest all around, in a few places interspersed by small brooks and streams. They mentioned it as an amazing walk, charged with natural energy, and dotted with a few incredible lookout points that take in sweeping panoramas of the beauty of the forested hills. Las Rocas marks the trail's highest elevation with a clearing that includes a shelter and picnic grounds. A side-path continues to a viewing platform with limited vistas. Sweeping panoramas are better from a smaller, unnamed opening east along the trail at a lower elevation.

Along their trek, they met three families out for a day of hiking on the same trail, one family was from France, another from China, and a group from Panama.

The whole hike will take 4-5 hours and is somewhere between 10 and 12 kilometers; reports vary. Whoever is eager for a rewarding challenge will not want to miss this Central American gem even if it takes all day at a snail's pace. Wearing long pants is a good thing to do - the trail hemmed with ground-level growth and while briars were not a problem, there are specimens, which inflame itching upon contact. Attempting this hike during the rainy season would be next to impossible. However, speculating what the environs would transpire deluged in clouds and wandering through thick fog would only enhance mystique; the gorillas in the mist ambience further haunted by bellowing howler monkeys. Spotting quetzals is the wildlife expectation that few rarely find. On this hike, my friends mentioned of not seeing any but did hear the magnificent sounds of the Quetzal bird - nonetheless birds were in most abundance.

Happy! Happy!

Four hours later the end of the trek!

Bravo to you both.

Explore! Discover! Dream!