The Panama Canal – Shining star of Central America

Known as one of the seven wonders of the modern world, the Panama Canal stretches 80 kilometers from Panama City on the Pacific side to Colon on the Atlantic side. It has saved tens of thousands of kilometers of sea voyage for the shipping routes along the U.S. East Coast and between the Americas and Europe.  Ships sailing between the east and west coasts of the United States, which otherwise would be obliged to round Cape Horn in South America, shorten their voyage by about 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km) by using the canal. Savings of up to 3,500 nautical miles (6,500 km) are also made on voyages between one coast of North America on the other side of South America. Ships sailing between Europe and East Asia or Australia can save as much as 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km) by using the canal.

Te Panama Canal stretches 80km from Panama City on the Pacific side to Colón on the Atlantic side. Around 14,500 vessels pass through each year, and ships worldwide have traditionally been built with the dimensions of the canal’s original locks (330m long and 33.5m wide) in mind. From its opening in 1914 until 1979, the Panama Canal was controlled solely by the U.S., which built it. In 1979, however, control of the canal passed to the Panama Canal Commission, a joint agency of the United States and the Republic of Panama, and complete control passed to Panama at noon on December 31, 1999. Administration of the canal is the responsibility of the Panama Canal Authority (Spanish: Autoridad del Canal de Panamá [ACP]), which answers solely to the government of Panama.

The canal has three sets of double locks: Miraflores and Pedro Miguel on the Pacific side and Gatún on the Atlantic. A 10-year expansion completed in 2016 added two three-chambered locks, allowing the passage of super-sized 'neoPanamax’ ships: Cocoli on the Pacific and Agua Clara on the Atlantic. Between the locks, ships pass through a huge artificial lake, Lago Gatún, created by the Gatún Dam across the Río Chagres, and the Culebra Cut, a 12.7km trough through the mountains. With each ship's passage, a staggering 197 million liters of fresh water are released into the ocean.

The waterway flows northward into Gatun Lake, an enormous freshwater reservoir home to a startling throng of wildlife. Visitors are recommended to choose a cruise trip down the canal, only for a more intimate view of the amazing creatures here. As you paddle, keep an eye out for sloths, curious capuchin monkeys or howler monkeys crashing through the foliage.