Location: 1.2 mi (2 km) West of Jobero
Area: 32,557 ha
Cerro Hoya National Park is a nature preserve in South Panama, situated 1.2 miles (2 km) West of Jobero. It covers an area of 32,557 ha of pristine highland rainforest on the shore of the Pacific Ocean. Cerro Hoya National Park runs along the Azuero Peninsula covering some of the highest peaks in the country. This natural reserve offers great expanses of land for backcountry camping. However it should be done with caution. There is no ranger station or visitor center at the entrance of Cerro Hoya National Park. On one hand you can enjoy yourself without any legal oversight. On the other hand if things will go wrong don't expect any help from local officials. Make sure you check the weather prior to departure and come prepared. Trails in Cerro Hoya National Park are poorly marked and can be very slippery from the rain and mist. With minor troubles aside Cerro Hoya National Park feels a lot like paradise with over 90 species of birds, various animals and insects that live in the virgin forests of the Panama Pacific coast.
The protected area of Cerro Hoya National Park
includes a coastal strip that goes from the mouth of the Ventana
River to the mouth of the Restingue River, including the Restingue
Islands and the continental shelf that surrounds them in their cays,
mangroves, coral reefs, islets and coastal cliffs.
In the
higher parts the low montane rain forest develops and as it
descends, the very humid low montane forests, the premontane
rainforests, the premontane humid forests and, in the coastal areas,
the tropical humid forests.
Cerro Hoya National Park has more
than 30 species of endemic plants. The most common forest species in
the protected area are mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), espavé
(Anarcadium excelsum), guayacán (Tabebuia guayacan), cuipo
(Cavanillesia platanifolia), oak (Tabebuia rosea), cedar hawthorn
(Bombacopsis) quinatum), the ceiba (Ceiba Pentandra) and many
others.
More than 95 species of birds have been recorded in
Cerro Hoya National Park, including the threatened red macaw (Ara
macao), the painted parakeet (Pyrrhura picta) from the southern
region of Azuero, the enormous king buzzard (Sarcoramphus papa), the
osprey (Pandion haliaetus) and the mangrove sparrowhawk (Buteogallus
subtilis).
Among mammals, along with important populations of
white-tailed deer (Odoicoleus virginianus), ñeques (Dasyprocta
punctata) and painted rabbits (Agouti paca) is also the jaguar
(Phantera onca) and the ocelot (Felis paradalis). Its most common
species of fauna are: The parakeet carato, the white-tailed deer and
fat mani.