Recently, I was invited to hike the Pipeline Trail, or the Lost Waterfall trail with some friends. It was a very interesting drive to find the trail, as I talked about in my last post with rock walls, waterfalls, and hidden castles. For directions and helpful photos to help you find this trail, check out this page from the Boquete Travel Guide.
It is the end of the summer dry season now, but the area is still very beautiful. We didn’t hike all the way to the end of the trail because other hikers said there is no water in the waterfall right now, but we hiked enough to see plenty of beautiful spots, and even a couple of the reclusive resplendent quetzals which was a surprise.
The trail starts here.
There were some pretty flowers among all the green
The trail was very well maintained, and had these little bridges over the streams.
Do not pass, dangerous. If you look closely, you can see one of the beehives that is back in there. Since honey bees in Panama are Africanized, we stayed well away.
We came across a tour guide pointing out something to the man with him, so of course had to stop and ask what they were looking at. There in the tree was a spectacular resplendent quetzal!
Another view of this beautiful bird.
Farther on the trail became more narrow, but I think it was prettier up here in the forest.
And then, another tour guide pointing out another resplendent quetzal! This one was back in the trees a bit and I had to make full use of my zoom, but you can see the bright blue and red colors.
It is also worth looking down because there are some pretty and unusual flowers to be found.
The path continues through the greenery.
We startled a squirrel who dashed up a tree chattering loudly.
The little bug, about the size of a large ant, kept trying to hide under the leaves but I finally got a shot of it.
Colorful bromeliads in a tree
Another pretty butterfly
I imagine the trail got its name from this pipe that can be seen along the trail in quite a few parts.
Up in the highlands things are lush and green even in the dry season.
I saw a flash of bright yellow come across the path and followed it down.
No hike would be complete without some cool bugs!
This tree looks like it is covered in lace
This poor butterfly is beautiful, though quite tattered.
A peek at a mountain through the clouds.
I haven’t done much hiking in Panama, but I was glad I went on this one. I enjoyed spending time with good friends, and it was amazing to see a couple quetzals! Many have gone looking and haven’t found them at all. I’m sending out a big thank you to the tour guides who happened to be on the path, because without them I could easily have walked right on by and not realized what was in the trees.
Maybe I should go hiking more often.
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About Kris Cunningham
We live in David, Chiriqui Provence, Republic of Panama! This blog is about some of our experiences in our new country.
The Panama Adventure 
You are slowly developing a scenic picture book of the region. Bravo!
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My camera goes everywhere with me so you’re right, I have photos now of quite a lot of locations. Thanks, glad you liked the post.
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Really beautiful shots of the natural surroundings and beautiful wildlife. Thank you for taking me on our hike 🙂
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My pleasure, glad I could share it with you 🙂
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Wow the glass winged butterfly is incredible. And how lucky you were to spot a couple of splendid quetzals.
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I don’t think I would have spotted any of it except for others on the trail who had stopped to look at butterflies and birds. I can see the advantage of going out with a guide.
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Absolutly stunning pictures. Can not wait to do this hike.
You made it feel like we along with you… thank you!
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Wow thanks, so glad you liked it 🙂
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We had gone into the mountains of Boquete with a guide, but were not as lucky as you to see the Quetal. It was a great day for you, they are o beautiful I would have loved to see one. Thanks for sharing the photos of them.
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We were lucky indeed! I hope you had a good time though and saw other beautiful things.
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