Photos from Boquete Panama

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Places to stay

I can’t think of a better way to describe this expat community, tucked snugly into the mountains of Panama near Costa Rica: Boquete is a mountain of coffee and a cloud forest in paradise. You’d know that for sure if you ever visited during its annual coffee and flower festival.

Rising to between 4,000 and 6,000 feet, Boquete has numerous coffee plantations that produce same of the world’s best coffee. It also is full of people who have relocated to enjoy the climate at a reduced cost.

Boquete is located high up in the mountains north of David.
Boquete is located high up in the mountains north of David.

The condo in the middle of a coffee plantation

Our home for ta few days was a beautiful condo, right in the middle of a coffee plantation about 2,000 feet above the city.

Our Condo Home for a few days in Boquete

Mountain view across the coffee plantation towards Volcan Baru
Mountain view across the coffee plantation towards Volcan Baru
Ripening coffee beans that taste fantastic right off of the plant.
Ripening coffee beans that taste fantastic right off of the plant.
So many stars with no light noise up here.
So many stars! With so little light noise up here, you can see the Milky Way.

Driving around the mountains

Driving through the mountains that surround Boquete is easy and beautiful. Easy, because all of the roads make a loop off of the main road through town, thus you can never get lost. Beautiful because, being in the cloud forest mountains and getting an abundance of water, Boquete offers spectacular scenes that drive my camera crazy.

One of the many waterfalls on a Boquete road
Being in a cloud forest, Boquete gets its share of rain and mist so waterfalls abound.

Waterfall in Boquete, Panama

Waterfall in Boquete

View from above Boquete on the north side
Boquete lies in a long valley. This is the north side, as seen from a mountain road.
View of the mountains near Boquete
View of the fast rising mountains near Boquete
Rock formation offering a chance to scale it
Rock formation and people considering a chance to scale it
Oropendola nests hanging from a tree in Boquete
Oropendola nests hanging from a tree in Boquete
Boquete River
Boquete River
Little Embera boy playing on a farm outside and above Boquete
We saw this little Embera boy playing on a farm along a road above Boquete

Fun in the city

Down in the city, there is always something going on but today was even better. Thanks to the Boquete Flower and Coffee Festival, there was musical entertainment in the main town square and tents selling coffees, crafts, plants and souvenirs. Crossing the Boquete River we found a whole fairground set up, full of great street foods and rides for the little ones. Joy for all!

No matter when you go there are plenty of shops and restaurants both in the city and along its various loop roads.

Mi jardin es su jardin just outside the city of Boquete
Mi Jardin Es Su Jardin is just outside Boquete’s downtown area
Embera indian offering a windpipe musical for all to enjoy
Embera indian offering a windpipe musical performance for all to enjoy
Tents offering wares during the festival
Tents offering wares during the festival
Little Embera girl with her mother looking over her shoulder at the rides she wants to enjoy
Little Embera girl with her mother looking over her shoulder at the rides she wants to enjoy
Boquete mountain coffee festival,
Spiral-cut meat, skewered and cooked over coals – typical street food in Boquete
Children's ride area at Boquete Flower and Coffee Festival
View of the kiddie rides

Being an expat community meant we didn’t need our Spanish too much, but when we got to the street foods, it did pay off to have it with us. After all, we only eat what Jesus would eat, and those guys sure like their pork. 🙂

I hope you guys enjoyed looking at Boquete as much as we did.

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Written by Dan

Professional photographer specializing in street, food and travel shots.

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12 thoughts on “Photos from Boquete Panama”

  1. You had me at mountain of coffee. Boquete sounds exactly like my dream destination! I love quiet mountain places like this. Amazing photos as well!

    • Thanks Liz. It doesn’t hurt to have a friend in the business. Boy is his coffee good and the surroundings seem to bring even more flavors out while enjoying the cup of joe.

    • The place we stayed at was from a friend who also owns a high-end coffee plantation and also runs a B&B. He can use this place for overflows if he knows the people. Thanks for the kind words regarding the photos.

  2. Amazing photos, I love the ones with the waterfall! (They also remind me I need to buy an ND filter asap!) That starry sky is gorgeous, I would have spent the whole night there.

    • Vlad, Thank you for the comments. The like the gradient ND, gives you just the right amount of light with only a twist of the filter. The sky was fantastic and we spent hours photographing it.

  3. Panama sounds like one of the destinations where there’s far more to discover than people think – or certainly than I thought. The more I read, the more tempted I am to go (especially with coffee AND amazing scenery). #theweeklypostcard

    • Hi Cathy, YES!!! Panama is such a missed destination. There is something for everyone, and the flora and fauna are not to be missed. I have an upcoming scheduled article I am writing for my grandkids about a day we spent on Lake Gatun and got to see so many animals. I do love Panama.

  4. I can’t imagine a much better place to stay than this condo in the middle of a beautiful coffee plantation, and not very far from the city’s busy life. I’ve seen a coffee plantation before, in Hawaii. It was very interesting and not at all how I imagined it to be. The fact that you didn’t have to speak Spanish in Bouquet must have made you feel sort of at home, didn’t it? After reading your posts about Panama I became very curious about this country. It seems very beautiful and friendly. It’s probably cheap too, isn’t it? Your waterfall pictures came out so beautiful!

    • Hello Anda, Staying in a coffee plantation was far exceeded by the fact that you pass a coffee house on the way up and then pass a dear friend who owns a coffee plantation that grows a consistent 97 cupper ranking from the coffee testers of the world. He then goes a step further to make a wonder coffee liqueur like I have never tasted before. Panama isn’t as ‘cheap’ as it used to be mainly because it is becoming a business and finance capital like what Singapore has become. The Panamanians have their eye on being the banking capital of central and south america with excellent, safe and secure banks, a tourism policy that brings layover guests into the city free, and an airlines (Copa Airlines) that serves great flights from Canada to the southern reaches of Argentina and Chile. Thanks for the photo compliments.

    • Hello Michelle, No damage to the coffee in Boquete, as this illusion seems to play a larger part in the media and government than it does in actual everyday life.

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As We Saw It