Knowing the Little Beach of Chagres River

To get to know the Little Beach of River Chagres, which is very close to the capital, I took a tour with Machetrek.

I met them at the Los Andes Shopping Center and we left for the Corutú Port (about 45 minutes).

First we visit the Waterfall and then we return to a piragua to visit The little Beach (la Playita) of Chagres river.

In the piragua, on the way to the Little Beach

The trip in the piragua was very quiet, I like to navigate the rivers because they are relaxing, I also love to see nature.

A beach in a river?

The little beach of Chagres River is a sandbar, a huge sandbar, where it looks like a Caribbean beach, because it has no waves and is crystal clear.

The Little Beach of River Chagres

Once we arrived I was very surprised, there were many people and it did not look full, how big it is, there were people playing soccer, others were grilling meat (own consumption, not for sale), others sunbathing, others playing in the water and others throwing themselves from some trees.

The piragua leaves us on the shore, without the need to get our feet wet, we settle down at a point, near a small bush.

There is a lot of space in the sun, but little with shade, if you are those who like the shade or go with children, you could bring a beach umbrella or something that serves as a roof.

We were there for many hours and we really enjoyed it.

There are deep parts, as on the beach, also the deeper, you can feel the flow of the river, although it is not much.

I spent almost all my time in the water, I really liked it, I hope to return.

Others took the opportunity to sleep for a while and some hiked on the sand. I think this is a place for all people, if you can walk, you can go.

The little beach from the river. — The Little Beach from the river.

Some hiked up the river and told us that a big whirlpool forms in the water (not on the beach), be very careful if you want to explore a bit.

Also very close there is an Emberá indigenous community that receives visits, I got to see about 5 piraguas that were transporting tourists to take them to the community, only you have to have a booking to go, because they pick you up and prepare everything according to the amount of people they wait.

After knowing the Little Beach of River Chagres, we went to have lunch (it was more like a lunch/diner, because of the time jijiji), our guide organized lunch for us at the boatman’s house.

Patacones with fish, the truth was that it was very tasty, there were some who repeated, I advise to take two orders, because, although it is not little, one is left wanting more and with room in the stomach (a man ate 3 orders), the thing is, if you ask for the extra order in the house, there may not be enough fish and they cannot give it to you, you have to try to order them in advance.

At the end, it was time to take the piragua again to get to the port and take the bus to return.

This was a quiet, relaxing tour, where we had a great time and close to the capital.

Note: there is no cell phone signal. If you have paddle board or kayak you could take it.

View from The Little Beach of Chagres River.

Advices

Use sunscreen,
Sunglasses,
Beach umbrella or something to shelter from the sun,
If you wear a cap, be careful that they fall off on the road, although they do not go fast, if there is a bit of a breeze,
For the boat, I recommend you go with long sleeves and long pants, personally I travel like this to protect my skin, not jeans, of course, in addition to using sunscreen,
Bring a complete change clothes (in case of rain),
Waterproof bag for your things (in case of rain),
Bring snacks, water, food,
Do not leave garbage,
If you travel alone or with few people or do not have a car, I recommend you go on a tour, you will enjoy the place, you will meet people and in the end, it will be cheaper,
On Sundays, there is less traffic. It took us the same time to return, however, from Monday to Saturday they can increase about 40 minutes by car.

Hours

There is no hour, but I suggest arriving at 8 in the morning to take advantage of the whole day.

Prices

$25.00 tour with boat, guide and transportation from the capital.
$4.00 lunch.

You can go on your own, I do not have the cost of only the boat, but it could be about $ 8 per person, depending on the number of people who go in it, so I saw up to 12 passengers in the piragua (they go from 2 to 2).

My guide

Jasnay from Machetrek: +507 6020.7332, machetrek13@gmail.com, you can also find them on Facebook and Instagram as Machetrek.

Machetrek and Mapana Travel are the same, I’m telling you because they may not always be appears as Machetrek.

Tours in Spanish and English.

Enter to Chagres National Park

At the moment, they are not requesting a reservation to enter the Chagres National Park, in any case, if you go on your own, you can write to make sure to pnchagres@miamiente.gob.pa

More information about hours, what you need to book and more here.

How to get to Chagres River?

Take the Transístmica highway and enter through La Cabima, continue on the road until you see Logística de Carga Cemex, take left and continue.

After the Visitor Center of Chagres National Park, take right and you will arrive at Corotú Port.

You will be guided by Google Maps, as they can make more streets and one can take the wrong one.

Recorriendo Panamá

Know the beauty of this country.

Knowing the Little Beach of Chagres River

A beach in a river?