Chiriqui

The province of Chiriqui is located at the west of the Republic of Panama having as limits, to the north, the province of Bocas del Toro and the Ngobe Bugle Reserve, to the west the Republic of Costa Rica, to the east the province of Veraguas and to the south the Pacific Ocean.

It has a surface of 6.476,2 km2, with a population of 368.790 inhabitants (2000) who occupy 87.509 houses. Politically it is divided in 13 districts: Alanje, Barú, Boquerón, Boquete, Bugaba, David, Dolega, Gualaca, Remedios, Renacimiento, San Lorenzo, San Felix, Tolé and Paso Canoas.

The more important cities and towns of the province are: David (the capital), Boquete, Puerto Armuelles, Concepción, Dolega, Alanje, Volcán, Cerro Punta, Gualaca, San Felix, Tole, Remedios and San Lorenzo.

The province is crossed from west to east for one of the more important communication ways of Central America: the Panamerican Highway. This route facilitates the visit to de different attractions of the region.

Chiriquí was populated, until the arrival of the Spanish, by different indigenous tribes (changuinas, zurias, boquerones, buricas, doraces, bugabas and gualacas) grouped under the generic name of guaymíes.

Its discovery attributes to the Spanish Gaspar de Espinosa, in 1519, being created the province the 26 of May of 1849, during the time at which Panama comprised of Columbia.

Its economy is mainly based on the agricultural and cattle grown, being the main food supplier for the rest of the Republic.

The tourism is beginning to take his first steps in the province that counts on sufficient attractive to become, in just a short time, in a destiny asked for by the national and international travellers.