My Visit To The Indigenous Village In Panama

Children in the Embera Village

There are several day trips that you may want to do while in Panama City. The Panama Canal is an obvious one and I reviewed a few ways to do that trip in my last blog post.  Another day trip you may want to add is a visit to the Indigenous tribal Embera village. The Embera tribe live in traditional villages deep in the rainforest. My first thought was, tourist trap. But this village didn't feel like that at all. In fact, the day trip was a highlight of our vacation. 

The Embera invite you into the village to experience their way of life, culture, handicrafts, and traditions. The children love showing off their school, playground and of course, borrowing our sunglasses and posing for photos. 

The Embera Village

There are dozens of tour companies offering day trips to the Embera village. We chose the Real Panama Tours. The owner, Soraya, is so personable that she makes the trip even better. Soraya picked us up at our hotel bright and early and we started the 1.5 hour car ride to the Chagres River. The ride is a bit rough at the end. We made one stop at a fruit stand where Soraya showed us unique Panama fruits like passion fruit and how to choose a ripe pineapple. 

We also stopped at the Chagres National Park Visitor Center which features tons of information about the park and river. 

Then we boarded the canoes for a 20 minute ride to the village. 

Riding in a canoe on the Chagres River

There are actually three Embera villages on this part of the river. Soraya said she liked the furthest one because she felt like they enjoyed sharing their culture. The villages rely on the money from the tours to sustain their way of life. 

The tribe welcomed us with a song and then dance. They continued to explain their traditions, culture, family life, education and answered questions. 

Then they served us lunch of fried fish and plantains. We also ate the pineapple and fruit that Soraya brought. Afterwards, we took a tour of the village with the children. They showed us their school, their homes, and playground. 

Lunch at the Embera Village

After the village, we hopped back in the canoes and headed to a nearby waterfall for a swim. 

Waterfall near the Embera Village

The cost for the day was $585 for a family of 5, but we put the tour on our Capital One Venture card and erased part of it. Woohoo! That's how we do it at almostFREEfamilytravel.com