SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: $500 Fee Reduction on Select Fall Panama Tours July 22, 2010
Posted by Victor Emanuel
Victor Emanuel
Victor Emanuel started birding in Texas 63 years ago at the age of eight. His travels have taken him to all the continents, with his areas of concentration being Texas, Ari...Dear Friends,
With the autumn season upon us, I wanted you to know about a significant price reduction on two of our upcoming tours to Panama. Working with Raul Arias, owner of Panama's famed Canopy Tower and its sister property, the Canopy Lodge, we have reduced the fees by $500/person for anyone who registers for our Fall at Panama's Canopy Tower or Fall at El Valle's Canopy Lodge tour.
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Birding atop the Canopy Tower— Photo: David Tipling/Canopy Tower |
Fall at Panama's Canopy Tower, October 16-23, 2010 with Barry Zimmer and a local leader; original tour fee was $2,795 in double occupancy from Panama City; with price reduction, new tour fee is $2,295 in double occupancy.
Lying only an hour from Panama City, the Canopy Tower eco-lodge is truly a remarkable creation. Perched on the edge of Soberania National Park, visitors can enjoy the pleasures of a unique lodge and experience outstanding birding in a beautiful tropical forest ecosystem. Whether standing on the tower's roof or peering into the canopy from the comfort of your room, you may often find yourself only yards away from such exciting tropical birds as Chestnut-mandibled Toucans, Slaty-tailed Trogons, Rufous Motmots, Green Shrike-Vireos, Green Honeycreepers, and so many others. Our tours often record 300 species of birds, in addition to monkeys, capybaras, sloths, and other animals. Fifteen minutes from the lodge, famous Pipeline Road offers a deeper jungle experience and chances for many other species of birds not found around the tower. Finally, the nearby Panama Canal offers a fascinating historical perspective that many find as interesting as the birding. What sets this trip apart from all of our other Panama tours is that it occurs during the prime time of the southward migration of hawks. Virtually the entire North American populations of Broad-winged and Swainson's hawks, plus hundreds of thousands of Turkey Vultures, migrate to South America through Panama. Past trips have recorded incredible flights of thousands of hawks directly over the tower and at various places along the Panama Canal.
Click here to view images from our 2009 tour.
Fall at El Valle's Canopy Lodge, November 6-13, 2010 with Barry Zimmer and a local leader; original tour fee was $2,395 in double occupancy from Panama City; with price reduction, new tour fee is $1,895 in double occupancy.
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El Valle's Canopy Lodge, Panama— Photo: David Tipling, courtesy of Panama's Canopy Tower |
A visit to the Canopy Lodge at El Valle provides another excellent option for a birding trip to Panama. Lying west of Panama City in the cooler middle elevation belt, this part of the country is very different from the region around the Canal Zone. A luxurious lodge, misty forests, and a range of beautiful tropical birds are the chief attractions of a visit here. Walking through the lush gardens that give the lodge its charm is an enchanting experience. Scores of hummingbirds, motmots, toucans, thrushes, honeycreepers, and tanagers are easily found among the profusion of flowering plants and fruiting trees. Whereas our other tours here operate as short extensions to our Canopy Tower tours, this trip offers a full weeklong stay. In addition to visiting the same places and searching for the same birds, you will travel farther afield to see other specialty birds and landscapes of western Panama. The lodge, with its wonderful gardens, excellent accommodations, fine cuisine, and access to other birding areas, provides a superior location from which all activities are based.
Through the years, I have been to Panama many times for personal travel and for leading tours. I have always considered that country among the world's greatest birding destinations, and I am very proud that VENT was the first bird tour company to bring birders to both of these unique lodges.
I hope you will join us on one of these tours this fall.
Best wishes,
Victor Emanuel