Part of what makes Boquete Garden Inn unique is our ‘Boquete Your Way’ service. We can help you plan your unique Boquete Panama experience—helping you select the best Boquete tours, independent excursions, Chiriqui day trips and Boquete restaurants to make the most of your stay in Boquete. Occasionally, we get guests asking us if they should climb Volcan Baru. Here’s what I tell them: unless you want to cross ‘highest mountain in Panama’ off your list, don’t do it.
I thought maybe that sounded a bit harsh, so I put it out to our Facebook followers, to see what they thought. Was I too Anti-Baru? Due to a lack of overwhelming response, I stick with my original recommendation: Don’t do Baru.
Of course, if you really want to climb Volcan Baru, we’ll help you to find a guide and work it into your stay. But here are some things to consider first:
1) If you are only visiting Boquete for 3 or 4 nights, a Volcan Baru climb kills a whole day and night. Most people leave for their Volcan Baru hike at midnight (in hopes of seeing both oceans at sunrise). It takes about 10-12 hours in total (about 6 hours up, 5.5 hours down), so most guests get back at noon and sleep. When you have a limited time in a place, you probably don’t want to spend it sleeping during the day or climbing in the pitch dark.
2) The rocky trail is tough-going on the descent. It’s really easy to lose your footing.
3) Baru clouds up pretty quickly, so, with the exception of about 2 or 3 months during the year, your odds of seeing both oceans are quite low.
4) If you aren’t a climber, and you’re more of a hiker, there are so many other amazing trails in Boquete with wildlife and great views. (The Pipeline and Culebra trails are just two!)
