visiting an Emberá village in Panama
Central America, Panama

Visiting an Emberá Village in Panama

Visiting an Emberá village in Panama was one of the most interesting things I got to do during my entire time in Panama. To meet indigenous people who live so differently from the way I’m used to living back in England, in the setting of their rainforest home, was an experience I’ll never forget.

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The origins of the Emberá people in Panama

Centuries and centuries ago, way before Panama was an actual country, and way way before the Europeans arrived in South and Central America, the rainforests of what are now Colombia and Panama were home to a whole load of different tribes of people. One of these indigenous tribes were known as the Emberá, and in actual fact they’re still known as the Emberá tribe. Because around 33,000 of them exist to this very day, continuing to live a way of life that’s very similar to how they lived all those years ago.

When I got the chance to visit an Emberá village in Panama and learn more about a culture which I actually had no idea about, I leapt at the chance. And when I say ‘leapt,’ I really did literally jump up and down like crazy because I was so full on excited.

Docking in Colón, the closest port city to this Emberá village

Our port in Panama was the city of Colón, located at the Caribbean end of the Panama Canal. And to tell you the truth pals, Colón was a sad sight to see. The city is run down, dangerous, and dirty. On the bus out of the city, we passed a group of children splashing in a paddling pool on a street corner, surrounded by rubble, broken glass and litter. Further away a couple of boys balanced their way along the roof of an abandoned concrete shell of a building, and a man slumped in the middle of an empty plot of land injected something into his leg.

It was a really, really, sorry situation, and one that I don’t think I’ll ever forget. I also found myself struggling from a moral point of view. I felt as if I was in some kind of royal parade, observing so much poverty from an air-conditioned coach, but unable to do anything about it.

Eventually we were out of Colón, whizzing past slicker-looking neighbourhoods that were once exclusively American. Back in the days when the Panama Canal was being built, the US occupied an area approximately twice the size of New York City, where Americans worked and played in comfort without ever having to step foot onto Panamanian soil. The citizens of Panama couldn’t freely move through this US-occupied land, even if they wanted to. Nowadays parts of these neighbourhoods have been completely abandoned, left with peeling paint to decay in the humid air.

A quiet hotel by the canal

It wasn’t long before we reached the Meliá Hotel, on the shores of Gatun Lake. We entered its compound through a security gate and were dropped off outside the front of the building.

Everything was HOT and DAMP. Inside the building everything felt COLD and DAMP, though I’m sure it wasn’t, because of the air con. You know how it is.

The Meliá is a very grand-looking place, but seemed completely silent when we entered the building. I wondered how many guests they tend to have at a time. Maybe they were all still in bed?

After a bit of time hanging out in the hotel lobby, appreciating the earthy dappled walls and golden fixtures and fittings, we headed out through the grounds past a ginormous swimming pool and down a long path at the far end. Trees towered overhead, with giant green moss-speckled roots anchoring themselves to the ground. Upon closer inspection, even the bark of the trees had a layer of sweat on them. We clambered from a jetty onto a shallow-bottomed boat, and were off across the lake, under a heavy sky thick with clouds.

Wildlife spotting on Gatun Lake

An integral part of the Panama Canal, Gatun Lake is actually around 26m above sea level, and is also one of the largest man-made lakes in the entire world. It wasn’t until I came to Panama and saw the Canal with my own two eyeballs that I even really knew it’s purpose, or appreciated what a feat of engineering it is. And despite the fact that the whole thing is man-made, the flora and fauna of this area has been allowed to thrive regardless. Tightly packed rainforest lines the shores, and as we zoomed across the water my pal and I stayed at the front of the boat outside, keeping watch for wildlife.

(And not just the wildlife: the breeze was a welcome relief from the humidity)

Our boat-front location paid off big time: there is so much astounding wildlife in Panama. We saw sloths wrapped around branches, their bedraggled fur almost camouflaging them into the leaves. Turtles, caimans and lizards were bathing in the sun, and toucans flapped from tree to tree. I was LOVING LIFE.

Panama really is beautiful, and I felt lucky to be seeing it.

And I very much appreciated that although I’m guessing the people of Panama are very much used to all this incredible wildlife surrounding them every single day, the boat driver seemed equally as excited as me every time he saw something hiding in the foliage.

The Village People. (And by that I mean, the Emberá Village People)

It was a surprisingly long time before the boat began to slow down as it reached the Emberá village. I could see a collection of people dressed in colourful loincloths and patterned skirts, swathed in layers of beads waiting on the shore. As we motored slowly closer, I could make out the men of the tribe on one side of the grassy slope ahead, instruments poised and ready to be played. The women were on the other side, some of them holding children or with a small lass peeking out from behind their ankles. Eventually they picked up their instruments- drums, wooden flutes and shakers- and began to play, welcoming us all one by one.

After everyone in our boat had made it on to land, the lovely lads and lasses showed us up the hill to sit under the roof of a palm-covered communal structure, where they sat us down and introduced themselves and their village to us.

The story of the Emberá people

Although the Emberá people were never forced off of their land or discouraged from continuing with their own traditions, they were largely ignored by the government until the 1970s. They weren’t counted in any census prior to 1975, had no right to a school education, and weren’t even officially ‘Panamanian’.

AWKWARD.

The one plus side to this is that as they were left to their own devices, this is one of the few countries in the world where the indigenous culture is still prevalent. The older members of the tribe I visited only speak their Emberá language, although most of the children and younger generations speak Spanish as well.

Many of the other Emberá tribes in Panama live in far more isolated parts of the country- namely in the Darien area deep in the rainforest. However the people of Emberá Puru, moved to this site around fifty or so years ago, partly to be closer to medical care and education for their children. These children travel several hours to get to school, some of them staying in the city during the week and making the journey home at weekends.

But pals- let me be clear about this- this was not the desperate poverty-stricken situation I witnessed whilst we drove out of Colón. It’s true that the Emberá haven’t got a lot in terms of money or possessions, but at face value at least, the quality of life of the villagers living here in relative isolation seems far better than of those living in inner-city Colón.


Visiting Casco Viejo, Panama City’s Old Town


As the village is situated within a National Park, the villagers are no longer allowed to hunt for animals or cut down rainforest for farmland. Plus, the education and medical care that they moved here for, costs money. So they did need to think of ways to earn an income, especially once their main source of food was restricted.

And that is where the tourism idea came in. Nowadays the villagers earn money inviting people to visit them in their village, and also from the sale of products that they make by hand. Products like the patterned fabric that the Emberá make their skirts from, carved objects and jewellery made from hand-carved beads, and woven bowls, pots and animal masks like the ones used by Emberá shamans in healing ceremonies. It’s a very resourceful idea that does a great job of earning money whilst simultaneously continuing to preserve the culture and traditions that these amazing people are rightly proud of.

Our experience visiting the Emberá village in Panama

Most of the Emberá have what looks like some form of tattoo, although our very friendly main villager-spokesperson explained that these aren’t permanent. The paint, which sometimes covers people’s faces as well as bodies, is a natural dye from the jagua fruit, which once on the skin lasts for about ten days.

And I can confirm that it really does last for ten days. Although I wasn’t up for getting an actual tattoo, I did accidentally get some on my hand whilst being shown this mysterious semi-permanent dye, and for a while afterwards I got very tired of being told ‘you’ve got something on your hand!’ by well-meaning colleagues.

After being shown all the tattoos, and hearing all the songs and stories, we were invited to have a stroll around the village and it was so awesome to see. As we ventured up the hill to the palm-covered houses raised above the ground to keep the critters out, one of the smiliest lasses I’d seen in months was asking all the questions about life where we come from. All I’m saying is I wish I’d retained more of the Spanish that I spent seven whole years of my life learning, so that I’d had something more interesting to tell her.

(I am so jealous of anyone who can speak more than one language fluently, you guys.)

It was a sad moment when it was time to get back on the boat across the lake. The whole tribe came down to the shore with us, again standing women and children on one side and men (and older boys) on the other, to wave goodbye and watch us sail away.

How to visit an Emberá village in Panama

I was able to visit Emberá Puru on an excursion arranged by the ship I was on, and even with a crew discount the cost was expensive. Despite this, it was absolutely worth every penny.

Emberá Village Tours is an Emberá-owned company which arranges similar visits to Emberá villages, and if you’d rather book a tour through a known website (the benefit of this being free cancellation if you change your mind), here’s a tour bookable through Viator which includes pick-up as well as the trip to the Emberá village in Panama.

For an even more in-depth visit, stay overnight in the village. Although I haven’t stayed with the Emberá, I did something similar when I stayed at a homestay with the Hmong people in Vietnam; staying with the locals is a beautiful experience, so if it’s something you have the time (and money) for, I think it’s worth it.

And my tips for visiting an Emberá village in Panama: brush up on your Spanish, pack mosquito spray, and bring cash. The products the villagers craft by hand are amazing, and I was sad that I didn’t bring more cash with me to be completely honest. Either Panamanian Balboa or US Dollars are fine.


Although I’d had slight reservations about the thought of going as a tourist to see the way other people live, the experience was amazing and something that I think was really valuable. I wasn’t expecting to meet such a welcoming bunch of people who were so proud of their culture, and when this tourism is something that actively sustains their way of life, I believe it’s 100% worth it.

Emberá Puru- the Emberá village in Panama that I visited is out of the way enough that high volumes of visitors isn’t a problem. Plus it’s expensive enough to reach that only people who are genuinely interested in learning about the indigenous people of Panama would really consider coming! This village is a really special place, and I felt incredibly lucky to be able to visit.



2 thoughts on “Visiting an Emberá Village in Panama”

  1. The Embera people are beautiful. Your article was wonderfully written. I felt I was walking the barren, poverty-stricken steers of Colon then enjoying the social comfort of the village of Embera. With all the wildlife and boat riding in the between.
    I do wonder if it’s ironic the city is called Colon and it might literally be the representation of colonization while the Embera people burn brightly in many ways… emancipated from the destiny of Colon. Interesting!

    1. What a lovely comment, thankyou! And yes you’re right re colonisation and its effects- the Emberá tribe I visited may not have what we would term an ‘easy’ life, but compared to Colon it seemed a dream! Panama is so full of contrasts; I found the whole country intriguing.

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