Panama
El Valle de Antón
An entire town nestled inside the crater of an extinct volcano.
The road descends into a bowl of green and the temperature drops by several degrees. El Valle de Antón sits on the floor of an extinct volcanic crater in Panama's Coclé province — an entire town cradled inside a ring of forested peaks, mist threading through the canopy at dawn. The air is noticeably cooler here, scented with wet earth and woodsmoke.
El Valle de Antón occupies the world's second-largest inhabited volcanic crater, sitting at 600 metres above sea level — measurably cooler than Panama City just two hours' drive away. La Piedra Pintada, a boulder covered in pre-Columbian petroglyphs, sits at the forest edge a short walk from the central square. The town's Sunday handicraft market has operated for generations, selling Ngäbe-Buglé pottery, living orchids, and carved soapstone animals. The EVACC conservation centre breeds the Panamanian golden frog — now extinct in the wild — in captivity, and surrounding trails lead to waterfalls and natural hot springs heated by residual volcanic activity.
Family
The golden frog centre captivates children, the Sunday market is gentle enough for all ages, and the crater's cool air is a relief after Panama's lowland heat. Waterfall hikes are short and well-marked.
Couple
Natural hot springs surrounded by cloud forest, crater-rim hikes with views down into the valley, and quiet eco-lodges tucked into the volcanic slopes — El Valle is a highland retreat built for two.
Solo
A compact base for day hikes, birdwatching, and exploring archaeological sites at your own pace. The Sunday market is a rich morning of browsing and conversation with local artisans.
Friends
Hiking to La India Dormida ridge, soaking in volcanic hot springs after the climb, and exploring the crater floor by bicycle — the valley packs a full weekend of outdoor activity into a small, accessible space.
- The crater floor sits at 600 metres altitude, making it measurably cooler than Panama City just two hours away — a genuine escape from lowland heat.
- La Piedra Pintada — a boulder covered in pre-Columbian petroglyphs — sits at the forest edge a short walk from the central square.
- A Sunday handicraft market has operated in town for generations, selling Ngäbe-Buglé pottery, living orchids, and carved wooden animals.
- The EVACC conservation centre breeds the Panamanian golden frog — now extinct in the wild — in captivity; children can hold the conservation biologists' attention for an hour.
Sunday market stalls selling orchids alongside deep-fried hojaldres drizzled with honey.
Fresh-pressed sugarcane juice from trapiche mills turning inside the crater.
Sancocho with free-range chicken from valley farms, ladled out in clay bowls.
Aberdare National Park
Kenya
Mist-soaked moorlands and secret waterfalls above a forest where leopards prowl past treetop lodges at night.
Sete Cidades
Portugal
Twin crater lakes, one emerald, one sapphire, fill a volcanic caldera wreathed in Azorean mist.
Blyde River Canyon
South Africa
Waterfalls pour into one of Earth's greenest canyons, subtropical forest climbing every wall.
Ihlara Valley
Turkey
A 100-metre-deep gorge sliced through volcanic rock, its walls honeycombed with painted Byzantine churches.
Casco Viejo
Panama
Crumbling baroque balconies where jazz drifts over a skyline of glass towers.
Portobelo
Panama
Rusting cannons guard a harbour where Spanish galleons loaded plundered gold for Seville.
Gamboa
Panama
A rainforest town straddling the Panama Canal where toucans perch on the balconies.
Bocas del Toro
Panama
Over-water bungalows on a Caribbean archipelago where sloths drift through mangrove canopies.