Articles

To celebrate our 25th Anniversary, we’ve been sharing the inspiring story of how Raúl Arias de Para, Canopy Family’s president and founder, turned a vision into reality. In our previous Newsletter, we explored

Recently, we were featured in Peregrine Magazine! In this article, our friend Mike Dawson tells the story about his flight to Panama getting delayed because of the amazing raptor migration. Once in Panama,

Before opening the Canopy Tower, on January 1st, 1999, our president and founder Raúl Arias de Para was involved in many things. He was an international banker for 10 years, working in Panama,

Canopy Camp Darién: Always great, now even better! Sometimes, Darién is regarded as a far-away paradise but with harsh and limited conditions. It does takes around five hours from Panama City to get

Back in 1999, the marvelous Canopy Tower began its second life as a birding lodge, representing the birth of the Canopy Family. It has certainly been a journey full of ups and downs,

Imagine if you had started birdwatching when you were 6. Julien Amsellem is an enthusiastic 19-year-old New Yorker from Hastings-on-Hudson, who has been birding actually since he was 6 years old. The moment

Denia was looking for a job, when her cousin, who worked with Canopy Family, told her there was an opening.And just like that, Denia started working as a housekeeper at the Canopy Tower

      Recently, the rainforests of Panama faced a historically significant threat. Nevertheless, at present, the opportunity to appreciate them has never been greater, making a visit to Panama more worthwhile than

        Tropics are the most biodiverse ecosystem in the world. The Neotropics, the tropical areas located in the American continent, encompass several developing countries, nations which have not experienced a

Eusebio Sánchez has worked at the Canopy Tower for 18 years. At a very young age, his dad taught him how to bake bread, and baking is one of the reasons he now

The isolated mountain ranges at the border of Panama and Colombia harbor some of Central (and South) America’s least accessible and least frequently observed birds. In a recent trip report from Cerro Pirre,

The opening of the Canopy Camp in 2014 was a pioneering event for birding and ecotourism in Darién, the far eastern province of Panama. The humid lowlands of Darién play host to a

The Canopy Family has been proud to participate in the Motus Wildlife Tracking System since 2016. Motus, a program of Birds Canada, is a research network that uses radio telemetry to monitor migratory

Last November, biologist Mark Stanback of Davidson College, North Carolina contacted us about a research project that he and his students hoped to conduct, focusing on the behavior of the Orange Nectar Bats

The orders from the Panamanian health authorities in response to the pandemic have been a major impediment for business owners and others seeking outside pleasures, but in the foothills of Chagres NP east

One of the Canopy Family’s major projects while tourism remains on hold is our agricultural project near the Canopy Lodge. This project entails the reclamation of approximately one hectare of overgrown farmland, owned

Two weeks ago, Charles Eldermire and Renee Mach from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology visited the Canopy Lodge in order to work on the Panama Fruit Feeder Cam that live-streams footage of the

With Canopy Family guide Oscar Fria’s discovery of an active Crested Eagle nest on February 20, the Canopy Camp can once again offer virtually guaranteed sightings of both Harpy Eagle and Crested Eagle,

Charles Eldermire, the Bird Cams Project Leader from Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, with Daniel Arias, the executive vice president of Canopy Family, installing the live camera on the fruit feeder at the Canopy

      Carlos and his parents live in Calamocha, a town of 3,000 people located in Teruel province, in the northeast of Spain. Carlos´s father Rodrigo is a biologist and teaches at

      Cameron Cox is an experienced and enthusiastic birder. He has counted migrating raptors at several hawkwatches throughout the United States. Here is Cameron’s thoroughly engaging description of his experience counting

     As soon as Joe Miller heard the idea of painting the inside of the gigantic dome of the Canopy Tower, he accepted the challenge. It started with a year of conversation

Recently, a conversation came up between Canopy Camp Darien manager David Byers, and guest Dr. James (Jim) Karr, Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington, regarding interest in the annual rainfall in Darién

Bald Eagle Photo credit: iStock By Mike Unwin It is mid-morning in Darién National Park, Panama, and I’m wilting in the rainforest heat. Three hours ago, with the ramshackle border town of Yaviza still

LV being released on Pipeline Road on March 9, 2009, photo by Jenn Sinasac In late 2008, a young Harpy Eagle was shot in Darién.  Likely still in her nest tree, and being

The World and I: A Tower in the Treetops By Nancy Hanna. Published in The World & I, February 1999. A former U.S. military radar facility in the Panama Canal Zone is transformed

Tour Companies and Hotels in Panama Finding Your Way By Joe Rubin Special to ABCNEWS.com You won’t see a five-star hotel on every corner, but you’ll find a range of choices Although Panama

James Wilson finds that the US withdrawal from Panama and the determination of an entrepreneur have been a boon to twitchers Financial Times ; 27-Feb-1999; 961 words ARCADIA Do not be deterred by

Once one of the largest U.S. military bases along the Panama Canal, Fort Sherman will be the site of the 250-room Gamboa Tropical Rainforest Resort. As this gateway between the Americas prepares to

Beyond the Zone As the United States prepares to hand over the canal, Panama’s wild wonders are ripe for discovery. By Alex Markels Outside Magazine, September 1999 Nowhere else on earth do the

Translation of an article that appeared in Sueddeutsche Zeitung by Veit Elser 21 December 1999 Ornithologist and model hotel keeper Raul Arias de Para runs a hotel at the Panama canal in the

By George Lewis NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT PANAMA CANAL ZONE, Sept. 4, 1999 — When the U.S. formally hands over control of the Panama Canal to the Panamanians this December, many of the Americans

 by Lorry Heverly September 1999  Every year, thousands of cruise passengers transit the Panama Canal. The eighth manmade wonder of the world holds a magical fascination for those who traverse the 50-mile waterway

By Joe Rubin Dense Jungles, Pristine Beaches, Exotic Wildlife Discovering Panama Already, Panama’s forests and coastal areas are a dream destination for the more adventurous ecotourists. Among the highlights: In and Around Panama

  Published on Sunday, December 19, 1999 © 1999 San Antonio Express-News Susana Hayward, EXPRESS-NEWS MEXICO CITY BUREAU SOBERANIA NATIONAL PARK, Panama – High up in the rainforest, amid the loud roars of

A former U.S. radar tower outside Panama City has become one of Latin America’s most talked-about new places to stay By Kimberly Brown December 1999 It’s Noriega’s nightmare: I’m standing atop a former

January 11, 2000 Panama Plans to Turn Bases Into Hotels for Eco-Tourists By JOSE DE CORDOBA Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL SEMAPHORE HILL, Panama — Banker turned bird watcher Raul Arias

  Travel Notes By John Mitchell and Sue Kernaghan March 2000 War–on–drugs tower now a bird observatory Panama already offered some of the world’s best birding opportunities, but they became even better with

A View With a Room Plus: the World’s Ultimate Outposts By Alex Markels October 1999 Rainforest Canopy Tower, Panama The U.S. military once used this radar tower to track drug runners flying from

CNN Travel Now Insights Towering above Panama’s rain forest From Jim Morelli CNN Travel Now Correspondent June 2, 2000 (CNN) — Rising above the treetops of Panama’s rain forest is Canopy Tower, an

Article Twelve – Panama by Robert DeMayo published in Hollis Times June 2000 Far South of us, down by the equator, lie vast tracks of primary rainforest. Hot, sticky jungles filled with insects

Dec 17, 2000 CHRISTOPHER REYNOLDS (excerpt) …Its owner, a former banker named Raúl Arias de Para, dubbed it the Canopy Tower and opened the lodging for business in 1999. Since then he has

By Andreae Downs, Globe Correspondent, 12/10/00 (excerpt) In a nature preserve just north of the city an entrepreneur named Raúl Arias de Para has converted an old US radar tower into a birder’s

July 2001 by Victor Emanuel Please note that all information is current only until the date of the newsletter. Even though I had seen Jeff Gordon’s videotape and heard glowing reports about Panama’s

In the treetops: Panama’s Canopy Tower provides a luxurious perch By Reed Glenn Special to The Denver PostSunday, March 31, 2002 – SOBERANIA NATIONAL PARK, Panama Sitting among the treetops high in the

New York Times, Travel Section (excerpts) By Mary Tannen April 21, 2002 I NEVER thought I’d come face to face with an ocellated antbird. In fact, until the day before, I hadn’t even known

Black Hawk-Eagle by Michael Castro One of the great pleasures of anyone who has an appreciation for the natural world is watching an animal return back to its natural habitat.  A sense of

“Choco” the Harpy Eagle, a new arrival at Summit Park A special visit to see Panama’s national bird, the majestic Harpy Eagle It’s not every day an opportunity arises to meet a Harpy

By SUSAN HOLMES and BESSY REYNA The Hartford Courant August 18, 2002 Choosing to travel to the beautiful small country of Panama is easy, but selecting where you will stay and what you’ll

Sanjida O’Connell takes in the sights and sounds of the rain forest at a former US radio tower turned eco-lodge. Saturday March 29, 2003 The Guardian I staggered upstairs at seven in the

By Joy Rothke Special to The Tico Times Weekly Edition: Vol. VIII, No. 71 – San José, Costa Rica, June 20 – June 26, 2003 Glowing adjectives are bandied about with abandon when

From Alaska to the Australian outback, these innovative retreats are committed to conservation—with the added value of cultural sensitivity, isolation, and, of course, style. Being green has never been so appealing. From July,

If you’re looking for a refuge from live television coverage of the war in Iraq, I’ve got a suggestion. It’s called the Canopy Tower Hotel, and it’s about half an hour’s drive from

Bob Cullen, Fall 2003 When Raúl Arias de Para (MS Economics ’70) wants to show guests around his place, he puts on a floppy red bush hat that has faded to a soft

Smithsonian Magazine, March 2004 (excerpts) As Panama seeks to diversify and improve its economy, it is looking to use the resources of its rain forests and parks and develop eco-tourism. I got a

Monkeys and Jaguars and Birds: Going Wild in Panama Although Panama has some of the most diverse wildlife in the Western Hemisphere, the country is largely undiscovered as an ecotourist destination. By Joe

By McKenzie Funk/Photography by Brown W. Cannon III August 2004 That evening Phil and I stood on Canopy Tower’s fourth-floor viewing platform and looked out over 360 degrees of jungle. Built in the

The Canopy Tower Ecolodge in Soberania National Park, Panama, is the grand recycling project of Raul Arias de Para, businessman/politician turned ecotourist innkeeper. Built as a U.S. military radar installation in the 1960s,

The noted biologist Dr Thomas Lovejoy remarks in the foreword to the book Tropical Nature that rainforests aren’t, on first appearances, the reservoirs of diverse and colourful life that they are sometimes made