Ancon Hill

he highest point of the Panama City area, Ancon Hill has served a number of purposes since the colonial period. The residents of the Old City of Panama, sacked and plundered by Sir Henry Morgan in 1671, chose a nearby site to relocate the capital of the Isthmus, as it was easily defendable from the summit of the hill, 200 meters above sea level.

A number of streams descending from the hill provided fresh water to the new city’s residents until the early 20th century, when authorities of the U.S.-administered Canal Zone leveled part of the hill to build military housing, thus destroying the streams. The "chorrillos", as the streams were called, were replaced by a modern system built by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers.

The change was not at all easy for Panamanians, who considered Ancon Hill as a symbol of the fledging city, and angrily protested the American "take-over" of the landmark, the foot of which served as the official border between Panama City and the Canal Zone. The hill would be "off limits" for Panamanians for over 60 years, a fact that prompted poet Amelia Denis de Icaza to compose a nostalgic ode to the hill in 1906.

The 1977 Panama Canal Treaties returned the hill to Panama, which immediately placed a truly enormous flag on the summit.

Ancon Hill soon became popular among joggers, and school children who enjoy the commanding views of the city and Canal. Nature enthusiasts can observe numerous species of birds (including tucans), reptiles (such as the black-and-blue) dentrobites eurasta, and mammals (white-tail deer, squirrels).

A protected natural sanctuary, Ancon Hill is open daily from 8.00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Its summit can be reached on foot, depending on your physical condition, in about 30 to 45 minutes.