Somebody once said about Burbayar that it was “the little house in the mountain we all dreamed of having”. And the truth is, we have made a lodge which provides all the basic comforts but is totally natural! We have been able to build our lodge in the middle of the forest using wood obtained sustainably, through recycling.

Burbayar in the Kuna language means spirit of the mountain.

There is a maximum group size of 14 people. Rooms are shared. We have fully-equipped bathrooms and water 365 days a year. We have power from a small generator and through solar lamps. At night we always light candles, giving the lodge an old-fashioned atmosphere. Our terraces are surrounded by colourful and relaxing hammocks, where you can also take a siesta, read a good book and plan your upcoming trips.

Our delicious Panamanian-style meals are served in our main dining room on one of the terraces so we can enjoy the landscape, the wind and the surroundings while we eat!

The weather up here is delicious: 25 °C during the day, and at night it goes as low as 20 °C. Almost like an eternal spring! This, together with the fact that we are 375 meters above sea level, allows us to enjoy tropical nature without mosquitoes. Amazing but true!

From the lodge we start our tours through the forest. We have six trails: red, yellow, white, blue, the El Laguito and the waterfall trails. There is a trail for everyone: they take from as little as 35 minutes up to 4 hours for the more adventurous!

Enviromentally-conscious:

• The materials used for building the lodge are recycled or reused, non-polluting or at least polluting as possible
• We cannot accept more than 14 visitors at one given time (groups are generally 4 to 8 people) in order to reduce the impact on the environment.
• Forest trails are just wide enough for people walking and they have been made without cutting down a single tree.
• Visitors can only use wooden walking sticks. Metal-tipped canes are not permitted.
• Solid wastes generated in the lodge are taken back to Panama City in special bags.
  Food waste is reused as compost or for feeding animals.
• Tours are guided scientifically with the goal of educationg about ecology, the environment and sustainability.
• Visitors cannot take or cut anything from the forest
• Visitors cannot throw away or leave behind any foreign element or material in the forest.
• Wastewaters are sent to septic tanks.
• Forest animals cannot be hunted or bothered

The first rule in Burbayar is: “You shall not take anything but pictures, you shall not kill anyhting but time and you shall not leave anything behind but your footprints, which shall be as imperceptible** as possible” (annonymous)

Commited to the community of Llano-Carti

Burbayar generates three direct jobs in the community and several indirect jobs on a continuous basis. We are commited to the improvement of the quality of life of the people of the community, which including old and young, men and women are around 90 people, living along the Llano-Carti road. We contribute every year with the health centre for the medical tours and with the primary school, which is attended by 19 boys and girls.