Panama's Camino Real, a Historic Walking Trail

Abstract

Throughout the long history of South and Central America, the major trade routes have been of huge strategic importance. This case study provides an overview of some of the most iconic; then focuses more particularly on Panama's Camino Real, which was once a commercial highway that linked the Atlantic to the Pacific.The case highlights the interest of such trails as means of revealing to visitors the complementary aspects of the country's heritage: its archaeological remains and historic structures dating from the colonial era, the extraordinary biodiversity in its National Parks, and the rich traditions of its local communities, of several different ethnic origins.