Cerro Hoya National Park
Cerro Hoya National Park (Parque Nacional Cerro Hoya) is a protected natural area of undeveloped coastline and dense virgin forests on the slopes of an extinct volcano. The park is in the Azuera peninsula of the Pacific West region of Panama. The park is the southernmost point of the North America continent.
Understand
[edit]History
[edit]The park was incorporated into the Panama national parks system in 1985.
Landscape
[edit]It is a large park covering an area of 32,557 hectares. Aside from the seashore, the entire park is mountainous forest. The park takes its name from the highest mountain peak in the peninsula, Cerro Hoya (1,559 meters). Two other nearby peaks in the park are Cerro Moya (1,534 meters), and Cerro Soya (1,478 meters). The three mountains together give the park its common nickname, Tres Cerros.
Flora and fauna
[edit]A wide range of plants and animals live in the park. Naturalists will enjoy hiking the park's Backcountry where they might spot almost 50 kinds of mammals from large cats like the jaguar and the ocelot (the most common cat in the park), river otters, and several kinds of money including spider monkeys, night monkeys, and howler monkeys.
Birdwatchers can find up to 225 species (though some are migrants and are seen only seasonally) including crested eagles, great green macaws, great curassows, and several kinds of dove. Birdwatchers will want to keep an eye open for the rare Azuero parakeet, a subspecies of the Painted parakeet.
Climate
[edit]Get in
[edit]Access to the park is difficult with poor signage and rural dirt roads that are often impassable mud holes. There are no park improvements, not even an official access road. Locals know which ranches allow access and hiring a local tour guide to take you in is the only practical way to visit the park.