- Address: El Cope National Park, Coclé, Panama
- Date of foundation: 1986.
- Area of the park: about 60 square meters. km
- Nearest town: Panama
- Working hours: from 8:00 to 17:00, except Sat and Sun
In Panama, nature conservation activities are very well developed, as evidenced by 14 national parks and 16 reserves. Among the protected areas is El Cope National Park, also called Omar Torrijos National Park.
Location:
El Kope National Park is located in the central part of Panama, in the mountains of the province of Kokle, slightly west of its center. The distance from El Cope to Panama City is 180 km.
History of the park
The park was organized to protect water sections of high-speed rivers flowing in these parts, namely Bermejo, Marta, Blanco, Guabal and Lajas.
El Cope was opened to visitors in 1986 and named in honor of Major General Omar Torrijos, who was an officer of the army of Panama, an important politician and leader of the populist movement in 1968-1981. He repeatedly raised the topic of social and economic development of this region, which, in fact, became his brainchild. It was here, in the mountains, that a plane crash took place, which took the life of Torrijos, whose name was subsequently given to the reserve.
Nowadays, the El Kope National Park has a developed infrastructure - there is an administration, a help desk, a guardhouse of the forest rangers and a checkpoint.
Climate in the park
In the park of El Kope often you can observe fogs and cloudy weather. Here falls a lot of precipitation (from 2 thousand mm on the coast of the Pacific and up to 4 thousand mm - in the Caribbean). In the lowlands, the average air temperature in the year is about 25ºC, in the mountains - about 20ºC.
What interesting things can you see in El Cope?
Although El Kope is not among the well-known reserves in Panama, it is worth saying that the local tropical forests - one of the most beautiful in the country. The most remarkable thing about them is:
- Flora. From the vegetation in the park you can meet a large number of gymnosperms, growing mainly on the hills, where the clouds envelop the mountains. There are rubber trees, which in the middle of the twentieth century were trying to cultivate ineffectively on these lands for industrial purposes. Unfortunately, now there are not many rubber trees in El Kope, some of them were destroyed by leaf disease.
- Fauna. The fauna of El Kope represents rare species of birds, among which we distinguish a white-footed shrike tanagra, a naked umbelliferous bird, a red-necked parrot, a golden olive woodpecker, a snow-capped hummingbird, a red-headed wart. It also inhabits endangered species of animals - jaguars, ocelots, cougars, long-tailed cats and jaguarundi. The park is equipped with several places for easy observation of animals and birds.
- Observation deck. A very interesting place in the Omar Torrijos National Park is the El Mirador site, from which you can observe the expanses of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
- Waterfalls . In the village of El Kope there are very beautiful waterfalls of Yayas, which are worthy to go to see them.
- The mountains. The Sierra Punta Blanca mountains (altitude 1314 m), which is the highest point of the reserve, and Sierra Marta (1046 m), reminiscent of the tragedy with the Torrijos plane, deserve attention.
How to get there?
First of all, you will need to fly to the International Airport of Panama City . Flights there are carried out through some European cities (Amsterdam, Madrid, Frankfurt), as well as the cities of the United States and Latin America. So the choice of the route depends on your location and wishes for the flight.
From Panama to El Cope, you can take a taxi or rent a car. Also, the Omar Torrijos National Park can be reached by road from Penonome .
What to take with you?
Going to the El Kope National Park, take with you supplies of drinking water and food, put on closed comfortable clothes and shoes, preferably sportswear, and a headdress.
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