Sunday Snapshot: Panama City Skyline from Ancon Hill
About the Photo
I don’t know what I was expecting Panama City to look like before I arrived, however I had envisioned a rural, poverty stricken destination in the middle of the jungle. The only part of this which proved true was that the city is located in the middle of the jungle.
Panama City is an impressive and dense skyline of high rise buildings surrounded by an expansive mass of tropical rainforest. The most cosmopolitan city in Central America, Panama City is a hub for international banking and trade, with a “sultry skyline of shimmering glass and steel towers that is reminiscent of Miami“.
For the best views of the city hike to the top of Ancon Hill – a 10 minute drive ($8 taxi fare) from the city centre. Plan around an hour for the hike (leisurely stroll) to the top and back.
We are currently traveling on behalf of Doubletree by Hilton DTour; a whole new way to plan – and share – your travels. We are staying at Doubletree by Hilton Panama City.
14 Comments
Wow Megan, that really doesn’t look like something I would have expected either! I would have expected Panama City to look more similar to Colombia with low scale buildings and a certain colonial charm. But this dense mix of awkwardly colorful skyscrapers looks rather like a random city in China than anything else… :)
Glad it wasn’t just me lol! Panama City has really blown my expectations. It’s been a great mix of modern city, has an old historic centre with the low scale buildings and Spanish colonial architecture, and then also has a belt of rainforest which is great for hiking, right on the doorstep of the city centre. It’s an interesting city – we love it!
Dennis you may also be shocked about Colombia also. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/69_-_Carthag%C3%A8ne_-_D%C3%A9cembre_2008.jpg
WOW – thats Colombia?! Would genuinely not have guessed!!
Hi Megan,
I loved Panama City, I actually just got back from Dominican Republic and Panama this past weekend. Thanks for sharing
Ed
Hi Ed – small world – we must have just missed you! Safe travels, and hopefully we’ll bump into you at some point in the future :)
Meg
Hi Megan, hope you are enjoying the trip?
Looking at your picture that looks like a very crammed city centre. I’m not sure if I like it or not. Some buildings are impressive others are just uninspiring concrete slabs of high rise accommodations structures.
I dare say the skyline will continue to change at a fast pace.
Looking forward (as always) to your next update.
Hi! Really loving the trip so far; packing a lot in but wouldn’t have it any other way!
It’s actually fairly spaced out once you get into the city itself; streets are fairly crammed together but the high rises are a far ways apart. We heard that Panama is rapidly changing, so it’ll be interesting to see what it does look like in a few years time.
Gives us an excuse to come back and make the comparison :D!
Wow, What a cosmpolitain city! I can’t say I’ve ever seen a photo of Panama city but I hadn’t envisaged it would be so built up!
Crazy right! And it’s being continually developed further as we speak!
Wow–I didn’t imagine Panama City to look like that either! It’s beautiful though. I would love to take a trip there one of these days–hope you have a great time!
The great thing about Panama is we were standing in the rainforest when we took this snap lol! Such different worlds accessible within minutes from each other!
You would love Panama; definitely consider it for your next trip :)
Panama City is definitely way more ‘modern’ than I expected too! I’ve been living here for about 7 months now, and don’t really feel like I’m lacking anything. Did you ride the metro system? It’s the first in Central America and makes it so handy to get around.
We didn’t ride the Metro system sadly – just jumped in cabs for around town. They were cheap enough so figured it was a pretty good deal! Though when we were there they had just opened a new metro line so it was free for the week or something like that.
Cool to know it’s the first in Central America though! So awesome that you live in Panama – we absolutely loved it and can’t wait to get back. I think they’re introducing a direct flight soon from Denver so really hoping we can get back next year :)