La Laguna de La Yeguada, Veraguas

I am completely speechless and cannot even begin to express how incredible this place is. If I had the chance I would seriously be there every single weekend. I consider it the ultimate camping experience. It is the place to go when you are in serious need to escape reality and want a tranquil weekend with no interruptions what so ever (yes, get ready you will not have any cellphone service). Anyways, before I pile on the basic information on HOW to get there, WHERE to stay, WHAT to bring and DO, I will share with you the basic knowledge on this beautiful location.

WHAT IS LA YEGUADA?

La Yeguada is situated in the province of Santiago de Veraguas and is a nature reserve park which aims to protect the lagoon that lies within it and its surroundings. This location is protected by the National Environment Authority of Panama (ANAM) due to the fact that it provides hydraulic energy to La Yeguada. This lagoon that lies within this beautiful forest is a crater of a primitive volcano since 1967. Yes, that’s right, if you go, you will be on top of an inactive volcano! But don’t you worry, as a consequence of this natural creation the weather is fresh and cool combined with an extensive forest of pine trees where your tent will eventually lay.

HOW TO GET THERE?

Since you already know I live in Panama, so my explanations are always on how to get from Panama City to the desired destination. My recommendation is always to take your own car as the time traveled will be shorter and much easier, however you also have an option to go by bus.

HOW TO GET THERE BY CAR?

The total time that it will take you by car is about 4 hours and a half, approximately 270 kilometers. As always, the best tool you can use is my best friend Waze or even Google Maps. For this trip you must be careful as there are different routes that Waze can take you through some of which you cannot even get by.

When we went it was a terrible mess because it took us through a route which we thought was the correct one, and when we were half way through our journey we arrived upon a lake right in the middle of the road which our car would not get through. Therefore, we had to go all the way back to the main road and take another route. If you are taking a normal car or van you will not be able to get through, however if you want to be adventurous and have a 4 by 4 big truck you can take the risk to go though this path.

Anyways, when you type in "La Laguna de La Yeguada" into Waze/Google Maps make sure that it is taking you through the “Carretera InterAmericana” and making you exit once you arrive at “El Jaguito”. From Panama City you will take the following:

1. Carretera InterAmericana (Inter- American Highway)

2. Aguadulce

3. El Jaguito (On this entrance you will turn right and exit the Inter-American Highway)

4. Calobre

5. La Yeguada

HOW TO GET THERE BY BUS?

I will tell you how to get there by bus, however I have not done this before, so I do not how good of an option this is. In order to get to La Yeguada by bus you will need to go to Bus Station at Albrook and you will have to take a bus to “Aguadulce”. Once you have arrived at Aguadulce there will be small buses that will take you straight to La Yeguada.

WHAT TO DO ONCE YOU HAVE ARRIVED?

One of the best things about la Yeguada is that it is FREE. You will not need to pay any entrance fee or any fee at all for that matter. I know, you are probably feeling shocked right now after having found out that this beautiful destination is 100% free. Well anyways, after you you have arrived I recommend that you explore the area a bit to see where you would prefer to camp, as there are many options it being such a large Nature Reserve.

We stayed in a beautiful location where we had no one nearby by and it was right next to the lagoon. Our camping site that we chose, was isolated, had beautiful large trees surrounding us, was shady, was big enough for our 6 people group. I bet I have to say no more and you are wanting me to tell you exactly where this secret spot is? You are in luck, I will indeed share this location with you. So here it goes...before you get to the entrance of La Yeguada (where the huge sign and ANAM house is), you will see an entrance to your left hand side. The entrance you will see goes downhill; if you begin to walk down this hill you will see you will arrive at the bottom and right at the edge of the lagoon. You can leave your car in front of this entrance and begin to walk down this hill.

When we arrived we had no idea why no one had taken this spot, it was just perfect! It was that perfect that it even had the set up for the fireplace! I would definitely recommend you to stay in this spot as there is room for a small group of people with 2 or 3 tents only so probably nobody else will come an invade you, it is isolated with no other campers closeby, and you have the lagoon right next to you. However, there are tons of places there where you can camp, so feel free to explore the area and find your desired spot. The time that I went it was Carnival break so most of the good places were packed so it was just incredible for us to find that good of a spot.

WHAT TO BRING?

Below you will find a list of essential items I recommend for you to take on this adventure:

1. Tent and waterproof cover for it (just in case it rains on you)

2. Sleeping Bag

3. Pillow

4. Sunscreen and any other of your favourite sun protection items

5. Mosquito repellant (when I went I brought with me a mosquito repellent bracelet that you can buy at the grocery store (Do it Center, Riba Smith, Sanborns). Thankfully when I went there weren’t many mosquitoes, however the fireplace did help quite a lot to scare them off)

6. For the fireplace we bought some firesticks that help you to start it off

7. Lanterns ( I recommend bringing small ones for when necessary and then a big one to place on a table to keep your area lit, because it will get PITCH BLACK at night)

8. Tables and chairs

9. A small camping kitchen appliance for cooking your food, unless you want to live the full on camping experience and cook with the fireplace!

10. Food and drinks (I recommend taking food that is easy and fast to cook such as: eggs and bread for breakfast, hamburgers for lunch, ham and cheese sandwiches for dinner and lots of snacks such as chips, fruits, crackers. And of curse for the ultimate fireplace experience we took chocolate, marshmallows and graham cookies to make some Smores. In relation to the drinks you should take lots of water just in case, soda, juice and if you wish any alcohol beverages)

11. Cooler with ice to keep drinks and food refrigerated

12. Paper towels and toilet paper (pretty self-explanatory)

13. Lots of plastic and garbage bags to throw out your garbage (please please pretty please be conscientious with nature and do not leave any of garbage laying around). At the end of your stay you can go to the entrance of La Yeguada where they will instruct you on what to do with your garbage.

14. Clothes: bring bathing suits, shorts, long pants and shirts (I used them at night just so I wouldn’t get bitten by any insects, socks, running shoes, sandals), underwear, sport clothes, socks, etc.

15. Toiletries: well this is pretty much up to you just remember to bring toothpaste and a toothbrush!

Ok, now you are definitely ready for La Yeguada experience! Hope you enjoy your stay there as much as I did!

This is the amazing view we had right next to out little camp site. Can you believe that?

Our camp site. Totally recommend staying in this particular spot.

Incredible huge trees that surrounded us

Views from our camping site

The sun is starting to fade, no problem! Start your own fireplace and then...

Time for some smores! Yum!

Enjoy!