Volcán Barú

I really liked the hike to the top of the volcano . We started at 12:15Am from the trailhead , after being dropped off by the taxi driver. Beautiful star studded sky and a pleasant breeze made the climb pleasurable until we reached 9km after which it got a bit cold and the path was extremely marshy for another km - this was the worst stretch of the hike. We saw the sunrise between km 12 and 13 and it was amazing to see orange colored clouds with the rising sun. The view at the top with the clouds moving at a fast pace was a beautiful sight. We stayed at the top for an hour before our descent. A kind family gave us té con raspadura to energize. We were dead by the time we got back to the start of the trail head. It took us 6hr:45min to go up and 4hrs to come down. One of the toughest hikes we have done

This is a challenging hike if you want to see the sunrise. You need to start around midnight and make it to the summit a little before 6 am if you can. The "trail" is a 4X4 road with lots of small boulders which in my opinion is more difficult choosing your path than the altitude or altitude gain. The summit is extremely windy and cold, this is why you need a change of clothes. There is a restroom and water at the summit. You can cheat and take the 4X4 tour. I recommend a guide because they know the trail inside out and on the way down once it's light, they can point out flora and fauna.

Worth the hike up to see the sunrise and oceans on both sides. Incredible views!

The best experience of my life. I’m Panamanian and this is the best activity I’ve ever done in my country. I recommend hiking up to see the sunrise—it’s beautiful, and the views are straight out of a movie. You can do it on your own from Boquete, but I recommend hiring a guide since anything can happen. Difficulty level: medium to high. If you don’t have a strong mindset, I don’t recommend it—it’s 17 km that can really take a toll on you. Highly recommended!

So worth the hike for the views! If you don’t want to pay a lot for a 4x4 tour and aren’t as keen on camping overnight near the summit, the overnight hike will be your only option for sunrise. For me, it is my favourite thing I did in Panama and the highlight of my trip. A few points of logistics: We had pre-booked a taxi to take us to the trail start and started hiking around 12:30am. Fee: At the trail start, you will be asked to pay a $5 entry fee online. Tip: If you want a view of the sunrise unobstructed by pylons, don’t go all the way to the cross for sunrise. Instead, after the pylons, turn right. You will see a small white building with a green roof and 1 single pylon. Go past it, behind the pylon and the cable, and you will have a clear view of the sunrise, unobstructed. You can then continue up to the cross after sunrise for the view. Timings: A 12:30am start had us up to the campsite at 05:30, and we had a little break before continuing on at 05:45. This got us to the white house around 06:00. If you want to be at the cross (summit) for dawn, I would not break too long at the campsite and continue as you’re not there yet. Pack plenty of water, drinks, and food/snacks as there isn’t anything up there if you aren’t part of a 4x4 tour. Also remember to pack enough for the descent too! Once you reach the summit you are technically only halfway as you still need to go back down. Hostal Vista Boquete has head torches and warm jackets available to rent if needed. It is definitely cold up there and I was happy to have the rented jacket! I looked all over Boquete for hiking boots to rent, but couldn’t find any, so I ended up hiking in my sneakers and, although hiking boots would probably be better, sneakers were fine. The path is easy to follow, it is a wide dirt road so you can’t really get lost, even in the dark. I still always download an offline map on Maps.me just in case, so I can view the trail. Although a hiking buddy is good and I wouldn’t hike in the night alone, I personally don’t think a guide is needed for this hike. It is muddy and rocky in some parts. It could get very muddy if it rained a lot before your hike. The cars also make the path muddier in some parts. Yes, I was very tired and sore the next day, but overall I am so glad I did it! Would highly recommend.

We came up here with a car for the sunrise. It was the most crazy car ride of our lives. The car was like a boat in the roughest storm an old sailor would face in a long lifetime. You should see some of my photos where I took some of the very rough "road". But at some point, you kinda feel like it's actually fun, like riding a machine in an amusement park but the ride just doesn't seem to end and goes on for hours. We actually had breakfast at the top with the sunrise and it was quite an experience. The view was very beautiful but it can get really cold. I still can't believe there are people who actually hiked on foot through the night though. The view and the experience at the top was incredible, the ride was rough, and pretty cold up there in general. You should experience it once, but I don't see myself visiting there again even though I would visit Boquete if I was ever in Panama.

Me and my group went up the trail by car. They picked up early in the am. By 4am we started the journey. Bumpy all the the way but very comfortable thanks to Mr Florian and their cars. Couple of big V8 cars that would climb up and down the rock with ease. The top was freezing, I underestimated it. From the antenas you must hike up to the cross. It is a 4/5 dangerous little hike. Doesn’t take long but you should be very very careful. At the end, it worth it. The view, the sunrise, standing tall above all majestic Panama.

We did the night hike to the volcano and started about 12:15 am. After a few meters we were were asked to sign up and pay the national park entry fee which took a while because there was barely phone network connection to fill out the online form. After 35 minutes of trying we could finally succeed and started the night walk. It was partly quite muddy which is why we would recommend hiking shoes and we would also recommend a head lamp for each person walking up. We went on an average to fast speed and it did took us about 5 hours. The sunrise was forcasted to be at 6:45 am, however already approximately an hour earlier you are able to see the first lights on the horizon which we found even more impressive than the actual sun rising up. At night it can get quite cold which is why we would also recommend warm clothes. All in all the view was amazing and the hike definitely worth it. As we were quite exhausted, we took the Jeeps down the volcano.