PORTOBELO NATIONAL PARK

Portobelo National Park, covering 35.929 hectares in Colòn Province, was set up in 1976. In the interior of the park lies Portobelo Bay, one of the most beautiful natural ports in the whole of the Caribbean. It was given its name by Christopher Columbus in 1502 on his fourth and last voyage to the New World. The fortifications that are preserved around the estuary were declared a World heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980. The park's topography is very complex. Its highest point in the 979-meter Cerro Bruja, located no the continental watershed. In the interior is Sierra Llorona, the name of which in Spanish refers to the great amount of water there.
There are also two hills called Cerro Pan de Azùcar an Cerro Palmas and a narrow mountainous strip within the northern boundary of the Panama Canal Basin. Average annual precipitation is 4.800 mm and average annual temperature oscillates from 27° C on the coasts and lowlands to 24° C in the highest parts. These conditions provide good growing conditions for premontane rainforests, very moist tropical forests, very moist premontane forests and moist tropical forests. The national park protects the headwaters and hydrographic basins of the most important rivers in the region: the Cascajal, Guanche, Piedras, Iguana, Iguanita and Brazuelo.
Along the 70 kilometers of incredibly coastline between San Cristobal Bay to the North and Buenaventura Bay to the South, there are important stretches of coral reefs, mangrove swamp, coastal lagoons and beautiful beaches, where every year four species of marine turtle, including the threatened hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricate), come to nest. On the coast, it is easy to catch sight of osprey (Pandion haliaetus) common black hawk (Beteogallus anthracinus) and fascinated tiger heron (Tigrosoma fasciatum). The iguana (Iguana iguana) is found in large numbers in the protected area, among the most interesting birds are the largest kingfisher on the Isthmus of Panama, Ceryle torquata, the plumbeous kite (Ictinia plumbea) and the great black hawk (Buteogallus urubitinga).
On the coasts, particularly in the mangrove swamps, there are lots of crab-eating raccoons (Procyon cancrivorus). In the rivers otters (lontra longicaudis) can be found, and in the most remote forets of the protected area goups of white-throated capuchin (Cebus capucinus) can be seen. The national park has outstanding historical and cultural assets, the city of San Felipe de Portobelo, after which the protected area is named, was founded on May 20th 1597 by D. Francisco Valverde y Mercado. It reached its high point in the middle of the seventeenth century when it became the place where all the riches from Peru and other South American countries arrived overland from the City of Panama via the Cruces Road (Camino de Cruces). Magnificent fortifications were built to protect the port entrance and the city from attack by pirates and corsairs. The San Fernando Fort, la Trinchera, the Santiago Fort and San Felipe del Morro Castle have been preserved as a discrete series of listed buildings that has been declare d a World Heritage Site.
The former Customs House (Casa de Aduanas), one of the main Còlonial buildings, was recently restored with the help of Spanish Government. The famous Portobelo fairs made this city the pearl of the Còlonial Carribean for almost two hundred years. Traders from the Old and New World came together there to sell their wares and carry out their business. The target of English corsairs, after several reconnaissance raids, the city was sacked by Henry Morgan in 1668. in 1596, the corsairs Francis Drake was thrown into the sea after his death a stone's throw form the so-called Drake's Rock (Peñon de Drake) off the Portobelo coast.