All 2 in 3 days here: ~70%
Soberanía National Park
🇵🇦 Panama
Canal Zone, Panama 1161 spp. recorded
Soberanía National Park protects 22,000 hectares of lowland tropical rainforest along the Panama Canal, just 45 minutes from Panama City. Its legendary Pipeline Road holds the world record for a Christmas Bird Count — 525+ bird species have been recorded in the park.
9.115° N 79.651° W
🦜 Nature
706 Species sighted
641,625 Verified sightings From 2019 to 2026
Oct Best month
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
🌙 Most active after dark
+ 430 more species with insufficient data
Challenges you can complete here
All 3 in 3 days here: ~50%
All 4 in 3 days here: ~60%
All 5 in 3 days here: ~30%
Recent sightings in Soberanía National Park
LIVEiNaturalistSighting Calendar
How many species you'd see in a day
94Jan
97Feb
93Mar
94Apr
88May
97Jun
84Jul
83Aug
94Sep
101Oct
84Nov
85Dec
Sighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
-
Lago Gatún
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
Geoffroy’s Tamarin~90%+40%
Proboscis Bat~90%+60%
Mantled Howler Monkey~80%+20%
Central American White-faced Capuchin~80%+40%
Green Iguana~80%+30%
Black Vulture~80%+10%
Common Basilisk~70%+20%
Turkey Vulture~60%-10%
Tropical Kingbird~50%-10%
Wattled Jacana~50%≈
Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth~50%+10%
Keel-billed Toucan~40%-30%
-
Old Gamboa Road South
Daily sight. prob.vs avg -
Canopy Tower
Daily sight. prob.vs avg -
Ammo Dump Ponds
Daily sight. prob.vs avg -
Muelle BCI
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
Central American Agouti~70%≈- Mantled Howler Monkey~70%≈
Giant Marine Toad~60%+30%
White-nosed Coati~60%+10%
Forest Toad~60%-10%
White-throated Gecko~50%+10%
Green and Black Dart-poison Frog~50%+10%
Western Slaty-Antshrike~50%≈
Northern Tamandua~50%+10%
Red-eyed Treefrog~50%+10%
Guayaquil Dwarf Frog~40%≈- Common Basilisk~40%-10%
🏕️ Experience
Essentials
Entrance
Paid
Tourism
Medium
Typical stay
1–2
daysTrails
Moderate
World Heritage
No
Climate
Temp °C Rain mm
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0.0 Excellent
Wallace's Line Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife? 🦜
Biodiversity
Very goodHow rich is the wildlife?
4.2
Species by taxon
🦅 Birds 695
🐒 Mammals 216
🦎 Reptiles 157
🐸 Amphibians 93
1161 Total Species
828 Global average across 316 parks
28 Threatened 60 Endemic
🔭
Sighting
ExcellentHow likely to see animals?
4.4
🎯
Top-12 Avg Probability
63% 📊
Coverage (348 species at ≥5% of 1161 in the inventory)
30% 🔀
Taxon variety in top 12 (7 bird, 4 mammal, 1 amphibian)
72% 🔭
Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)
216 🌟
Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)
28 ⭐
High-prob species (>40%)
42 🏕️
Experience
GoodHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
3.3
Climate Mixed Medium
Entrance Paid Low
Tourism High Low
Trails Moderate Medium
World Heritage No —
What visitors say
We also saw capuchin and howler monkeys, lizards, leaf cutter ants, butterflies (several morpho).
Without even stepping into the national park or Pipeline road, we saw a green iguana, a toucan, bats, agouti, fireflies, tanagers, parrokeets, tons of butterflies, turtles, frogs and capybara.....all within a several minute walk from Ivan's place.
Over the course of four hours we saw sloths, crocodiles, monkeys, countless colorful birds, and more wildlife than I could possibly remember.
My Thursday morning hike on the Plantation Road further convinced me that my decision to visit the Canopy Tower ecolodge in the Soberania National Park in Panama was an excellent one.
Before you go
What animals can you see in Soberanía National Park?
1,161 species
Soberanía National Park has 1,161 recorded vertebrate species. The ones wildlife watchers report most often on a given day are Black Vulture (about 70%), Keel-billed Toucan (about 70%), Central American Agouti (about 70%), Turkey Vulture (about 70%) and Tropical Kingbird (about 60%). Among reptiles, the most-seen is Green Iguana (about 50%); among amphibians, Forest Toad (about 60%).
When is the best time to visit Soberanía National Park for wildlife?
Any time of year
Wildlife is about as easy to see all year: the park's 12 most-seen species average about 60% on a given day in every month with enough records. The driest month is February (about 25 mm of rain) and the wettest November (about 350 mm).
Can you see a Geoffroy’s Tamarin in Soberanía National Park?
Yes
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Geoffroy’s Tamarin sighting in Soberanía National Park on a given day, based on 430 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is January–April, June and August–September (about 60%).
Can you see a Keel-billed Toucan in Soberanía National Park?
Yes
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Keel-billed Toucan sighting in Soberanía National Park on a given day, based on 10,033 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is October (about 80%).
Can you see a Mantled Howler Monkey in Soberanía National Park?
Yes
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Mantled Howler Monkey sighting in Soberanía National Park on a given day, based on 574 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is March and September (about 70%).
Can you see a Brown-throated Sloth in Soberanía National Park?
Yes
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Brown-throated Sloth sighting in Soberanía National Park on a given day, based on 281 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is July (about 60%).
Where in Soberanía National Park is wildlife easiest to see?
Around Lago Gatún
The richest sighting zone is around Lago Gatún, followed by Old Gamboa Road South and Canopy Tower, ranked by how many of the park's headline animals visitors can expect to see in each. See the zones on the map.
Is Soberanía National Park good for wildlife watching?
4.3 out of 5
On the Wallace's Line Score, Soberanía National Park rates 4.3/5: 67th of 316 parks worldwide and 6th in Central America. 60 of its species are reported by about 40% or more of wildlife watchers on a given day.
