Some of the most abundant wildlife and birdlife to be seen in Panama is within rainforest skirting the edges of the Panama Canal and on the many islands within it. On this four day visit, we take you from the Pacific coast to lock gates at the Atlantic Ocean, and many a stunning rainforest location in between.

Your base throughout is the Sobrenia National Park, in a lodge created out of a former US radar tower. The rooms and the main living and dining area look out into the rainforest canopy, whilst a platform surrounding the radar dome takes you just above the treeline. The views over the rolling canopy are wonderful and ever changing with the weather. In the distance you can see quite clearly the canal and watch the World's economy go by on container ships.

The tower was built several decades ago, so the trees around it have grown ever closer. The platform provides an excellent vantage point over fruiting Cecropias and other trees, where hundreds of birds come to feed. Sloths and monkeys are a common site, as are Keel-billed toucans, Collared Aracaris, Crimson backed Tanagers and a selection of the 34 species of hummingbird found in the area.

The bird watching is world renowned in this area, with a total of 596 species recorded. Your guides are true local experts and whether you are a keen bird watcher or never found it of much interest, you will find it difficult not to be amazed at how they can pick out and show you some incredible specimens of nature. Mid September to mid December has the added highlight of the great avian migration of bird travelling overhead from North America, where the weather is beginning to turn colder, to the warmer South.

In addition to birds, sightings of mammals are easier than in many other rainforest locations you are likely to visit. Whilst two-toed and three-toed sloths, white fronted capuchins, mantled howler monkeys and white-nosed coatis are often seen in the Sobrenia forests. Capybara and agoutis are best seen on wet grassland along the famous Pipeline Road. This is a good location to see lock gates operating in one of the narrower sections of the Canal, and to get a feel of times gone by when the USA occupied the Canal Zone. Many of the former US buildings are empty now and falling into disrepair.

To many, the highlight of this visit is a boat trip from the Sobrenia area to Lake Gatun close to the Atlantic Ocean. This artificially flooded area provides a safe inland anchorage for many ships. The rising waters also turned a hill into Barro Colorado Island, which is one of the most intensively researched areas of rainforest in Latin America. You will explore the forests here guided by research staff appointed by the Smithsonian Research Institute who own the island. Not only will they help you to see some of its abundant wildlife, but they can explain details discovered from eight decades of research conducted on the island.

If you can spare longer, then we can expand the forest and canal areas you visit. Other possibilities can include a more detailed look at the Canal system, exploration of more of its forests and rivers, or Panama City's highly attractive Old Town.

Photographs kindly provided by Ralph Pannell, Raul Arias de Para, Endangered Wildlife Trust, Smithsonian Research Institute