Volcan Baru National Park, Chiriqui Province, Panama

5oriel b 5:00 PM Apr 26, 2022

One of the most amazing things Ive seen
I must say, this was on my bucket list for a long time and never really had a chance to do it. We got up early, and were driven to the summit of the Volcano, we were there just before sunrise. We did a maybe 15 min hike to the actual summit at 3475mts above sea level to witness the sun rising and to our surprise, on this day, we were able to see both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, what a sight!! Now, if you have the budget, this is the best way to do it in my opinion. We hired a tour company in Boquete and they drove us in 4X4 vehicles. Once we got up there, they had extra jackets for us, as we were not really prepared for the cold. Our guide leaded us to the summit, we stayed up there as long as we wanted and came down to a very nice warm breakfast prepared by the guide. Hot sandwiches, coffee, hot chocolate and we brought champagne for a toast at sunrise. If you want to do the hike (which I will be doing next time) PLEASE! for the love of God! Prepare yourself! wear hiking shoes, bring enough water, warm clothing, a hiking stick wont hurt. During our drive up we encountered so many people sick by the altitude or just tired from the long 6 hr walk. Its not a good experience if you are not prepared, but if you want, you can do like we did and trust me, the experience is so much better. Self driving is NOT an option by the way.

4Phil R 5:00 PM Apr 26, 2021

Arrive early, unlike us.
I read many reviews before arriving. Most people encouraged an early start on this hike (1-5am) and that it took 8 hours return to reach summit. With that in mind, my wife and I (both 33yo and in fairly good condition) arrived around 10am for the East hike from Boquette. Our math was that sunset was 7pm and that gave us plenty of time to hike in the day. Maybe this was our mistake. When we arrived, the ranger at the entrance was very concerned. Told us many times we were too late and unable to make it to the top because the park closed at 1pm (first time I had ever heard of this). He also pointed to a hand written notice that indicated we had to email a certain address to inform them we were coming (I’d guess as a COVID precaution - still, first I had ever heard of this). After much negotiation, he let us pass provided that we did not try and make it to the summit, and that we returned by 2pm. We made it to the 8km mark and turned back. All in all, it was beautiful and a long hard day (like we expected) but we kinda wish we had been able to summit. Also, the drive from Boquete is a little confusing, and not well signed. Expect to drive about 10 mins into the mountain before actually arriving at the parking spot. Then you walk about 200m to the park entrance.