Monkey Island Panama
Gatún Lake sits just 45 minutes from Panama City, and its scattered islands are home to wild monkeys living undisturbed in the rainforest canopy. Our Monkey Island tours take you out from Gamboa by boat to see them in their natural habitat — with two ways to extend the day into the surrounding jungle.
2 tours
$80/pax
45 min from Panama City
By boat from Gamboa
Two Ways to Visit Monkey Island
Monkey Island + Soberanía + Sloth Tour
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- 6am–noon or 1pm–6:30pm
A half day is all it takes — morning or afternoon, with hotel pickup included.
Monkey Island + Rainforest Tower Tour
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- 6am–1pm
Monkeys on the lake, wildlife on the trail, and the canopy from the observation tower — all in one morning.
What Monkey Island Actually Is
Gatún Lake was formed when the Panama Canal was built, flooding the Chagres River valley and leaving behind a scatter of forested islands and hilltops. Cut off from the mainland, several of these islands became isolated habitats where monkeys live without natural predators — which is why boat tours from Gamboa can get close enough to watch them in the wild, in the trees, without a zoo or sanctuary involved.
It’s one of the only places in the world where you can see truly wild monkeys from a boat in under an hour from a capital city.
Am I guaranteed to see monkeys?
Which Monkey Island tour should I book?
Do I need to be an experienced hiker?
Keep Exploring
See Panama's Wild Monkeys
Half a day or a full one — either way, you'll be watching wild monkeys from a boat on Gatún Lake within an hour of leaving your hotel.