Dare go to Darien?
The Darien gap is a spread of land that connects Panama to Columbia. It is one of the few places travelers in South America, don´t dare enter. In fact, for a laugh check out Lonely Planet´s current info on Darien. There is an official exclamation followed by some serious text about the dangers of traveling through the gap.
I thought it interesting to note because so often when traveling we (travelers that is) get the sense that there is truly no place we can´t venture, when in reality we live in complicated world with real issues. Sometimes travelers take for granted the freedom in which they are welcomed especially while traveling in South America, yet, the Darien gap is place largely run by drug trafficking and some heated political issues. To make a long story short – its not safe and not safely run by either panama nor columbia´s government. Its a ´go at your own risk situation´.
Check out this great articleabout a ten day kidnapping by a national geographic traveler in Darien. A great read.
Tags: Travel
compasskim
Isnt it also a National Park?
Yes, its a National Park. The part closest to Panama is actually quite safe but when you get into insurgent areas within the park- thats when it gets dangerous. There is actually quite a lot to see that isn’t risky within certain areas of the greater national park. This was important to note so thank you for adding the comment. I should have mentioned it in the post. Happy Travels!