by Rebecca Hollman
updated June 16, 2020

Cerro Cara Iguana - El Valle de Anton, Panama

El Valle de Anton, mostly shortened and called just El Valle, is a cool mountain town a short drive away from Panama City. Known as an outdoor adventure spot, it draws a big crowd of Panamanians from Panama City who want to come play in the mountains for the weekend. The town itself is located in a volcanic crater, with the ridges and peaks surrounding it in all directions. These leads to tons of epic hikes just steps away from the edge of the town. One of the trails closest to towns is Cerro Cara Iguana or Cerro Cariguana. The trailhead is walking distance from most of the hostels and hotels in town. It was so close and so easy to access that we did the trail three times in the week we were there. Since it’s so close, the peak of the mountain gives really great views of the town below and you can see the whole volcanic crater rim surrounding the town.

About This Hike

This moderate hike starts with a pretty brutal uphill trek along a dirt road that switchbacks for about a mile or two miles. You step off the dirt road where there is a small green ranger hut and into a forest. The trails goes through the forest up a little bit more until it opens up into an exposed ridge line. As the trail keeps winding up you finally crest over the edge and get your first views of the town. You have one final last stretch up to reach the summit of Cerro Cara Iguana, or “Iguana Face Mountain.” The trail goes back along the same way it came up. In total, the trail is roughly 4 miles depending on where you start. You can drive farther up part of the dirt road and park along the side of the road if you want to make the trail shorter or you can walk all the way from town. The road isn’t passable without 4WD at some point and there are many parking spots along the side of the road that are pretty obvious before the road gets too bad.

Trail Info

This 4 mile hike gains roughly 1200 ft over a few hours of hiking. It starts along a dirt road that switchbacks up a very steep section that comprises more than half of the trail. The rest of the trail goes across the open ridge line until you finally reach the final summit, which gives stunning views of the town.

Getting to the Trail

From the main road, you turn down Calle del Macho - towards the more residential area of the town. Once you reach the hot springs on the right, turn left on Avenida los Millionarios and then immediately right on the next road towards Petroglifo Cariguana (marked on the map below). Continue following this road until you reach the dirt road turn off on the right that is the start of the trail. Park anywhere along the road from the Petroglifo Cariguana to the dirt road turnoff. There are some pretty obvious pull off areas that give plenty of room to park. From there follow the dirt road up and continue along the trail.

Trail Map

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