Changuinola is a city in the

Bocas del Toro Province Bocas del Toro (; meaning "Mouth of the Bull") is a province of Panama. Its area is 4,643.9 square kilometers, comprising the mainland and nine main islands. The province consists of the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Bahía Almirante (Almirante Bay ...

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

and seat city of the Changuinola District. The city attracts tourists as a popular gateway to

Bocas Town Bocas del Toro (), also known colloquially as Bocas Town, is the capital of the Panamanian province of Bocas del Toro and the district of Bocas del Toro. It is a town and a tourist resort located on the southern tip of Colón Island in the Boca ...

and nearby cities Almirante and Chiriqui Grande.
Changuinola is surrounded by

Changuinola River The Changuinola River is a river of Panama. See also *List of rivers of Panama This is a list of rivers in Panama. By drainage basin This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries indented under each larger stream's name. ...

and extensive banana plantations.

Demographics

The corregimiento of Changuinola has a land area of and had a population of 31,223 as of 2010, giving it a population density of . Its population as of 1990 was 33,721; its population as of 2000 was 39,896.

Climate

Changuinola is a coastal location with a

tropical climate Tropical climate is the first of the five major climate groups in the Köppen climate classification identified with the letter A. Tropical climates are defined by a monthly average temperature of 18 °C (64.4 °F) or higher in the cool ...

, more specifically a trade-wind

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...

. The area does not have a predictable

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The te ...

. The driest times are late August to mid-October, February, and March. Changuinola is humid. Thundershowers and heavy rain are common.Frommer's Panama (2E, 2009), . Normal temperatures are consistent all year (Hi: 80°-84 °F, low: 71°-75 °F). Due to its low latitude, sunrise is around 6 AM, and sunset is around 6 PM local time. These times vary slightly during the year. Weather data is collected at Capitán Manuel Niño International Airport.

Transportation

Changuinola is accessible by air, land, or sea. Visitors can fly into Capitán Manuel Niño International Airport from

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

Air Panama Air Panama is a regional airline based at Albrook "Marcos A. Gelabert" International Airport in Panama, and is currently the second-largest air carrier in the country, surpassed only by Copa Airlines. The carrier offers both scheduled and charter ...

. It has daily flights but can be delayed due to frequent thunderstorms and heavy rains. Direct flights from the United States, Canada, and Mexico are not available. Buses run between Changuinola, Almirante,

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

and Panama City. When traveling by land, tourists coming from or going to Costa Rica must clear both Costa Rican customs in

Sixaola Sixaola is a district of the Talamanca canton, in the Limón province of Costa Rica. It is a border town together with Guabito, Panamá Sixaola is right across the Sixaola River from Guabito, Panama. History Sixaola was created on 19 Februar ...

and Panamanian customs in

Guabito Guabito is a corregimiento and town in the Changuinola District of the Bocas del Toro Province of Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental countr ...

. Buses are more reliable in bad weather.

Infrastructure

Changuinola is divided into small farm communities called "Fincas", since all of the city is surrounded by banana plantations. as example, "Finca 4" which means Farm 4. Changuinola has one main road that crosses all town from south to north, at the end you could take left to reach Guabito border town. The "Manuel Niño" International Airport is a small international airport where you can take flights to Panama City. The

Calvin Byron Stadium Calvin Byron Stadium (formerly known as El Empalme) is a 2,500–3,000 seat baseball field in El Empalme, Changuinola. It is the home of the ''Tortugueros'' (Turtle Men) of Bocas del Toro. History The original stadium name was "El Empalme." In ...

for is located in El Empalme neighborhood, home of Bocas del Toro baseball team. The

bridge was built in 2009 and replaced 1920 railroad bridge next to it. Changuinola was struck in April 1991 by 7.7 powerful

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

, the town was reconstructed in the following years.

Public Services

Private and Public health care available. The CSS Changuinola Hospital is located right next to the Police station, and private clinics are also a great choice and available in the city. Changuinola has several public and private schools, to mention most important IPT Changuinola and Empalme School. University of Panama extension "CRUB" is located in Empalme, Changuinola

References

External links

Tropic river woodsPortal of ChanguinolaWeather Underground: Changuinola, Panama
(''not'' Costa Rica). {{Coord, 9, 25, 48, N, 82, 31, 12, W, region:PA_type:city, display=title Populated places in Bocas del Toro Province Corregimientos of Bocas del Toro Province