Skip to content
SanBlas-Islands.com
  •  San Blas
    •  Guna’s
      •  Guna Yala region
      •  Molas & Guna art
      •  Native Guna Food
      •  Guna language
      •  Guna, Kuna or San Blas
    •  Pictures top10
    •  Dog Island
    •  El Porvenir
    •  Top beaches
    •  Marine & wildlife
    •  History of San Blas
    •  Climate & weather
    •  Vaccinations
    •  Eco-tourism
    •  Funny facts
  •  Accommodation
    •  Find a hotel
    •  Find a lodge
    •  Find a hostel or cabanas
    •  Find real estate
  •  Sailing
    •  Sailing info
    •  Sailing trip blog
  •  Activities
    •  San Blas tours
    •  Scuba diving & snorkeling
    •  Windsurfing
    •  Sport fishing
    •  Voluntary work
    •  Learn Spanish
  •  Travel
    •  Getting to San Blas
    •  Cartagena to San Blas
    •  Flights to San Blas
    •  Travel rates
  •  Panama
    •  Bocas del Toro
    •  The Pearl Islands
    •  The Darién Gap
    •  The Colón Province
    •  Hiking in Boquete
  • News
Site Search

The Darién Gap

Darien Gap jungle Panama

The Darién is one of the provinces of Panama bordering the Guna Yala or San Blas comarca (district). To most people the Darién province is famous for its dense jungles and as a dangerous road/gap between Panama and Colombia. It is often called the Darién Gap since the border with Colombia is only accessible in certain places because of the jungle. The Darién as the jungle is called, borders the east part of San Blas. The capital of the Panamanian side of the Darién is La Palma, other important cities are Yaviza and El Real.

Darién jungle

The Darién Gap is one of the most inaccessible places in the world. The jungle is full of swamps, marshlands and rainforests. These natural features of the Darién Gap still prevent human civilization to connect Panama and Colombia by the Pan-American Highway until this day. The Darién Gap is the only place where the Pan-American Highway isn’t running, for your information the highway covers a total of 30.000 miles crossing North, Central and South America. Nowadays law protects the Darién Gap and two National Parks exist to protect the jungle. The Darién National Park in Spanish called the Parque Nacional Darién, which covers the Panamanian side of the jungle. This is the largest National Park in Central America and harbors the most preserved forests of the area. In Colombia the jungle is protected by the Los Katios National Park in Spanish Parque Nacional de Los Katios.

Guna Indians of the Darién

Before the Kuna’s settled on the islands of San Blas they lived in the jungles of the Darién. They were nomadic people that used all the resources they got get out of the jungle. But harsh conditions and jungle illnesses drove the Kuna to the San Blas Islands. The Guna’s found it much more easier to inhabit the islands were the Caribbean Sea and salt climate protected them against jungle illnesses such as Malaria. The islands offered great food since fish could be found everywhere and coconuts on the islands. The Kuna settled in the San Blas area around the 17th century.

Risks of crossing the Darién

To most people the Darién Gap is only know because of the movement of FARC militants in the area and the cartels which smuggle drugs through the area. This is the dark side of the Darién Gap but with proper guidance you can avoid trouble and enjoy the riches of the land by crossing it on foot. Nowadays the FARC is negotiating with the Colombia government and kidnappings and assassinations on foreigners are rare. Still you have to be cautious and well informed to enter the jungles of the Darién, never enter them without a guide.

sanblas-islands.com logo

Welcome on the official website of the San Blas Islands of Panama. SanBlas-islands.com provides reliable travel advice for your trip to San Blas. We hope that you enjoy traveling to our beautiful islands and wish you a happy & sunny stay.

Top rated lodges ⛺️

We can highly recommend the following lodges based on guest reviews and price/quality checks.

  • Cabanas Narasgandup $120 per night
  • Bungalow Isla Waisalatupo$89 a night
  • Cabaña Tubasenika$120 per night

    Guna quote

    Take nothing but memories, leave nothing but footprints!

    Flights to San Blas ✈

    We are one of the only websites online where you can book flights to San Blas. Check the airfare rates for flights to the area.

    Best sailing deals ⛵️

    • Myblue4you sailing tours$199 per cabin (2 persons)
    • Rendezvous sail tours $220 per cabin (2p.)
    • Trophy girl Sailing $160 per cabin (2p.)

    Advertisement

    We're sorry to use advertising on our website. But else it would be to costly for us to keep our website running. - San Blas islands team

    Planning & travel

    • Travel to San Blas
    • Hotel, hostel or lodge?
    • Pristine beaches
    • Weather forecast
    • Pics of San Blas
    • About San Blas Islands

    Traveltips & more

    • Sailing San Blas
    • Guna Yala region
    • Air Panama flights
    • Travel rates
    • Bocas del Toro
    • San Blas tours

    Other languages

    • San Blas Islands
    • San Blas Inseln
    • Isla San Blas Panama
    • îles San Blas
    • San Blas eilanden
    • 圣布拉斯群岛巴拿马

    Partners

    Do you want to become a partner of San Blas? Read more on the about us page.
    © San Blas Islands 2002-2022 | Privacy policy | Disclaimer | Other info