Fortuna

Fortuna, Panama is a beautiful mountain area by the continental divide in Panama. It is host to a Smithsonian research center, the La Fortuna Nature Reserve, a fabulous hike-in eco-hostal, a hydroelectric dam, and beautiful panoramic views. For those seeking an extraordinary lifestyle, properties for sale by Casa Solution in nearby Los Planes and Gualaca are available as are rare opportunities to own land in Fortuna. Fortuna is home to several hostals and the new Horizonte Resort hotel is now available near the park entrance.

The Fortuna Forest Reserve

The Fortuna Forest Reserve reserve is a place of mountains and cloud forests. At an altitude of 2,213 meters above sea level, Cerro Chorcha is the highest point in the reserve. The average temperature is around 20°C, with a minimum of 10°C and a maximum of 27°C throughout the day.

The forest is a habitat for 1,136 plant species, making it home to the largest number of endemic species of any protected area in Panama. The reserve is also home to an extensive number of amphibians, with 70 species found there, as well as reptiles. The bird population includes the Resplendent quetzal, Military macaw, and Toucan, while the forest is also home to mammals including the elusive jaguar.

The Ultimate Eco-Hostal Experience in Fortuna

In the cloud forests of Fortuna in Chiriquí Province, is the hike-in jungle retreat, Lost and Found, which offers breathtaking views including of the amazing Volcan Baru. The lodge is situated within the La Fortuna Nature Reserve and provides a distinctive communal living experience. With miles of trails to explore, guests can fully immerse themselves in nature. This 50-bed lodge also owns the entrance of the Fortuna Forest Reserve, and it is built on more than 30 acres of rainforest and a re-purposed organic coffee farm. It is the deepest private reserve within the La Fortuna Nature Park, catering to backpackers, hikers, adventure travelers, digital nomads, scientists, and nature enthusiasts alike. Strategically placed on the main road between Bocas and Boquete, it is one of the only titled pieces of land in the reserve. Please ask Casa Solution about the ability to own this piece of paradise.

The Smithsonian in Fortuna

With a stunning view of cloud-wrapped mountains near the continental divide in western Panama, the Smithsonian’s Tropical Research Institute’s Jorge L. Araúz Research Center in Fortuna offers simple living facilities and excellent access to the largely unspoiled wilderness of the 19,500-hectare Fortuna Hydrological Reserve and the adjacent Palo Seco Forest. The reserve encompasses an elevational transect from sea level to 1,400 meters on Panama’s Caribbean slope. Trails beginning at the highway provide access to forest on diverse soil types.

The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama was founded with the purpose of increasing and sharing knowledge about the past, present and future of tropical ecosystems and their relevance to human welfare. This work began in Panama in 1910, when the Smithsonian led one of the world’s first major environmental impact studies, which surveyed and catalogued the flora and fauna of the lowland tropical forests that would be flooded with the creation of the Panama Canal. A century later, the Smithsonian in Panama is a standard-setting global platform for groundbreaking research on tropical forests and marine ecosystems and their astounding biodiversity.
The Fortuna Forest Reserve in western Panama hosts some of the most diverse montain forests in Central America. The Smithsonian has done 25 years of research on Fortuna's climate, geology, soils and major plant groups, including more than 800 species of trees, 300 species of ferns and 200 species of orchids.

Today, STRI employs 40 staff scientists and hosts some 1,400 scientific visitors every year, from undergrads and interns to postdoctoral investigators and tenured research associates. Together, they collaborate on 350 running research projects and publish more than 400 peer reviewed articles in scientific journals every year. The research is not only shared widely around the global scientific community, but also reaches policymakers in Panama and beyond, receives media coverage around the globe, and is the foundation of an outreach and training program that reaches hundreds of teachers and tens of thousands of schoolchildren every year.
In Fortuna, Panama there is found the Smithsonian’s Tropical Research Institute. The Smithsonian’s Jorge L. Araúz Research Center in Fortuna, Panama has incredible views of cloud-wrapped mountains near the continental divide. The center offers excellent access to the largely unspoiled wilderness of the 19,500-hectare Fortuna Hydrological Reserve and the adjacent Palo Seco Forest, which encompasses elevations from sea level to 1,400 meters on Panama's Caribbean slope. Trails beginning at the highway provide access to the extensive tropical forests.