When my oldest childhood friend and I decided to go to Panama, we knew that we had to hike its tallest mountain. Being from Colorado, where 14,000 foot peaks seem to be everywhere, we felt pretty confident that we could conquer Panama’s highest mountain, which stands at just over 11,000 feet. However, as we set out in the dark on our trek up the volcano that early morning, we did not fully anticipate the difficulty of actually reaching the top and coming back down in one day.
Baru Facts
- The hike is 30 km round trip from the trailhead outside of Boquete.
- It should take 5-7 hours to reach the top and approximately the same amount of time to descend
- Volcán Barú is the tallest mountain in Panama at 3,474 meters (11,398 ft) high.
- It is a dormant, but potentially still active, volcano that is located in the Chiriqui highlands just south of the Continental Divide.
- Volcan and Cerro Punta are on its western side and on its eastern side is Boquete.
- Rising from a fertile area of cooler highlands, Volcan Baru stands out above the other peaks nearby, though the top is often shrouded in clouds, especially during the rainy season.
- The volcano can be hiked from either side (leaving from Cerro Punta or Boquete), but a guide is needed to do the technical and ill-marked trail from its western side.
- The most common, and easier way, to get to the top is hiking up a 4×4 jeep trail from the mountain’s eastern side near Boquete (though I am not sure if its possible for any vehicle to navigate this rough road/trail).
- Volcan Baru either be hiked in one or two days. Some prefer to hike up with packs and camp somewhere near the summit to break up the 30km round trip venture. During the rainy season (May-December) clouds often move in on Baru in the afternoon, so camping can also help you avoid doing much hiking in the rain.