Quetzal Trail Tour

Located within the Volcan Baru National Park, the “Sendero de los Quetzales” links the towns of Guadalupe near Cerro Punta on the west side of the Volcano with Boquete on its east side. The entire hike is 9.6 km long in total (6 miles), and depending on your hiking speed it will take you anywhere between 4 and 7 hours to get to the other side. The ranger station where the hike starts is at about 1,800 meters above sea level, and Cerro Punta’s altitude is 1,981 meters (6,500 feet). The highest point in the Quetzals Trail is marked at 2,500 meters. This makes the shift in altitude around 500 meters for the entire hike. In this National Park temperatures range from 10° – 16°C (50° to 60°F). There are 3 ways to do this hike. You can either leave from Boquete, go half way and come back in a half day (Out and Back option), go from Boquete to Cerro Punta (uphill) or hike from Cerro Punta to Boquete (downhill). The Out and Back hike option starts from Cerro Punta, which is 2 hours away drive from Boquete so the hike officially starts at 7:45am approximately but we leave from Boquete at 6:00am. Some may find the downhill option easier as it requires less effort, but note that a long downward slope may be hard on the knees. The uphill option demands more endurance, but it has the advantage of spotting more wildlife on the lower level of the park if you start early in the morning. As the hours pass, you will see less animals, as they are more active early in the morning. We recommend you to bring a rain jacket, good hiking shoes, some drinking water, snacks and a camera if you want to immortalize some of these unforgettable moments.