Besides being incredibly rich in fruit trees and vegetables thanks to a wonderful climate that usually ranges from 12°C to 25°C, this area offers the most scenic destinations. Explore the rocky mountain rivers, wander the great hiking trails, visit horse and orchid farms and admire the impressive Baru Volcano, Panama's tallest mountain, 3.474 meter high, from which on a sunny day you can see both the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean. Your experience will also be made special by the interaction with the indigenous tribes who still live here, the ancient archaeological sites and if interested, the many bird watching sights. The area offers multiple cabins, hotels and hostels to suit all tastes and budgets.

Valencia welcomes spring with its most colourful and famous festival. Gigantic papier mache monuments, known as fallas, with effigies usually representing celebrities or politicians in a satirical way, are set up on streets and squares throughout the city and burnt to a cinder in spectacular bonfires on the last day of the celebration. The Flower Offering to the Virgen de los Desamparados, when thousands of falleras and falleros in traditional costumes parade through the city, is also a sight to behold.

The biggest art gallery on the Golden Coast, 19 Karen showcases Australian and international artists of various styles and genres. Urban, Street and Pop art, Expressionism, Contemporary Figurative and Abstract art, Realism and Surrealism and anything in between — all in one big white cube space in a converted warehouse. Make sure to check their website for present and upcoming exhibitions, since the curators keep switching things around quite often.

Declared by Unesco as “World Heritage Site”, the town of Portobelo is known as a “historic monument collection” since you can visit several sites in the same place. Many of the fortresses, castles and buildings have been preserved almost intact along the years: examples are Fort Santiago, San Jeronimo, San Fernando, the Customs and Controller’s building, and the San Juan de Dios Church famous for the Black Christ. During the sixteenth and seventeenth century, Portobelo became one of the most important silver-exporter ports of Nueva Grenada, the Spanish Colonial Jurisdiction which included today's Colombia, Panama, Ecuador and Venezuela. Portobelo also became one of the most important departure points from the “Indies”. For the same reason, this town was subject to many pirate attacks from Francis Drake, William Parker, William Hiking, Henry Morgan, Edward Vernon, and William Kingles. This coastal town is famous for serving excellent seafood and it is close to other great Caribbean destinations.