The collection of articles here, some by the Canopy Family and friends and some from magazines, newspapers, and other media outlets around the world, offer great insights into the unique accommodations and spectacular wildlife of the Canopy Family lodges.

Raptor Migration in Panama featured in the magazine Peregrine

Raptor Migration in Panama featured in the magazine Peregrine

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,

Canopy Tower by Eduardo Estrada

An Idea That Became a Reality

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

Canopy Camp Darién: Always great, now even better!

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

CT_Eduardo Estrada_2024

We can’t believe it’s been 25 incredible years!

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,

Julien Amsellem

1,000 birds by the age of 19!

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

Honeymoon room_Denia2

Towels folded especially for you!

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

Individual clients, Igua and plane

Panama outlaws open pit mining

      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

Birding students in Nusagandi for webpage

Birding provides innovative educational opportunities

        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

Lagartos and bread

Nature Served from the Canopy Tower!

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

Birding Cerro Tacarcuna

Birding Cerro Tacarcuna

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,

Wild Image

Birding 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

Monitoring Migratory Birds

Monitoring Migratory Birds

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

Bats of the Canopy Lodge

Bats of the Canopy Lodge

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

Panama's Undescribed Moths

Panama’s Undescribed Moths

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

Agriculture at the Canopy Lodge

Agriculture at the Canopy Lodge

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

Fruit Feeder Cam: New Developments

Fruit Feeder Cam: New Developments

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

The Eagles of the Canopy Camp, Darién

The Eagles of the Canopy Camp, Darién

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 Eldemire and Daniel

The Fruit Feeder Cam at the Canopy Lodge

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

Sloth at the canopy Tower

Meet Carlos Pérez Naval: a 14-year-old photographer

      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 picture

Half a million raptors passed by the Canopy Tower!

      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

Joe with mural inside dome

The new painting inside the Canopy Tower dome

     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

Panama Rainbow

Rainfall at the Canopy Family Lodges

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

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On the trail of the sloth-eating eagles of Panama

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

Harpy Eagle

A Harpy Eagle Story

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

The World and I: A Tower in the Treetops

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

Older photo of the Canopy Tower before renovations

ABC News.com: Finding Your Way

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

Birders on top of Canopy Tower looking through binoculars

Financial Times: Bird Watchers on a Path to Paradise

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

The Canopy Tower viewed from the air

Saint Petersburg Times: In Panama, A Change Of Heart

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

Social Flycatcher

Outside Magazine: Destinations

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

Rainforest

A Man Sees Green

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

Canopy Family | NBC: Panama sees future in ecotourism

Canopy Family | NBC: Panama sees future in ecotourism

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

Canopy Family | Ambassadair Travel Club: Panama's Wild Places

Canopy Family | Ambassadair Travel Club: Panama’s Wild Places

 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

Canopy Family | ABC News.com: Discovering Panama

Canopy Family | ABC News.com: Discovering Panama

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

Canopy Family | San Antonio Express: Big Plans for Former Bases

Canopy Family | San Antonio Express: Big Plans for Former Bases

  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

Canopy Family | Travel & Leisure: The Ultimate Army Surplus Panama City Radar Hotel

Canopy Family | Travel & Leisure: The Ultimate Army Surplus Panama City Radar Hotel

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

Canopy Family | The Wall Street Journal Archives: Bases Become Hotels for Eco-Tourists

Canopy Family | The Wall Street Journal Archives: Bases Become Hotels for Eco-Tourists

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

Canopy Family | The Georgia Straight: War-on-drugs tower now a bird observatory

Canopy Family | The Georgia Straight: War-on-drugs tower now a bird observatory

  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

Audubon: A View With a Room

Audubon: A View With a Room

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

Canopy Family | CNN: Towering above Panama's rain forest

Canopy Family | CNN: Towering above Panama’s rain forest

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

Canopy Family | Hollis Times: Robert DeMayo’s Canopy Tower Trip

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

Canopy Family | Los Angeles Times: A Sea Change in Panama

Canopy Family | Los Angeles Times: A Sea Change in Panama

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

Canopy Family | The Boston Globe: Panama: so much more than the canal

Canopy Family | The Boston Globe: Panama: so much more than the canal

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

Canopy Family | VENT Birdletter: Panama's Canopy Tower: A Wonder of the Birding World

Canopy Family | VENT Birdletter: Panama’s Canopy Tower: A Wonder of the Birding World

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

Canopy Family | Denver Post: Panama's Canopy Tower provides a luxurious perch

Canopy Family | Denver Post: Panama’s Canopy Tower provides a luxurious perch

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

Canopy Family | New York Times: In Panama, Nobody Here but 289 Birds

Canopy Family | New York Times: In Panama, Nobody Here but 289 Birds

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 Panama

Canopy Family | Black Hawk-Eagle released from Canopy Tower

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

Harpy Eagle Summit Panama

Canopy Family | Canopy Family Builds Relations with Summit Park

“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

Canopy Family | Hartford Courant: Panama Has A Place To Stay

Canopy Family | Hartford Courant: Panama Has A Place To Stay

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

Canopy Family | The Guardian: Wings of Desire

Canopy Family | The Guardian: Wings of Desire

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

Canopy Family | Tico Times: Canopy Tower Unique by Any Definition

Canopy Family | Tico Times: Canopy Tower Unique by Any Definition

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

Canopy Family | Travel & Leisure: 25 Great Ecolodges

Canopy Family | Travel & Leisure: 25 Great Ecolodges

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,

Canopy Family | Bob Cullen: Iraq and the Keel-billed Toucan

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

Canopy Family | UVA Alumni Magazine: The Birdman of Panama

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

Canopy Family | A Man, A Plan, A Canal: Panama Rises

Canopy Family | A Man, A Plan, A Canal: Panama Rises

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

Canopy Family | ABC News.com: Going Wild In Panama

Canopy Family | ABC News.com: Going Wild In Panama

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

Canopy Family | Audubon Destination: Panama - The Route to Prosperity

Canopy Family | Audubon Destination: Panama – The Route to Prosperity

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

Canopy Family | A Week at Panama’s Canopy Tower

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,

Canopy Family | BBC Science & Nature Article: The Rainforest Mammals of Panama

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