Does Panama Have a Zoo?

Yes. Panama has a zoo: Parque Municipal SUMMIT, a municipal park and wildlife rescue centre in Ancón, just outside Panama City. It cares for about 200 rescued and resident animals across nearly 100 species, including a jaguar named Darién and Panama's national bird, the harpy eagle, and it's open six days a week.

What not to miss

Featured location Parque Municipal SUMMIT Ancón, Panama ALPZA Parque Municipal SUMMIT, opened in 1923, is a zoo in Panama. Its exhibits include mariposario and La Casa de Domo.

The park began in 1923 as the Canal Zone Plant Introduction Garden, under its first director, the American botanist David Fairchild. Its first animals, macaws, weren't added until the late 1950s, and it was through this same experimental farm that teak was first introduced to the American continent. Management passed to the Municipality of Panama in 1985, and today the rescue centre and zoo hold about 200 individual animals across nearly 100 species of mammals, birds and reptiles, spread over 50 hectares of trails and recreational grounds.

Look for the jaguar named Darién and the harpy eagle named Panamá — a fitting name, since the species is Panama's national bird and one of the park's signature attractions. In July 2025, Panama's Ministry of Environment formally accredited the park as the country's first Botanical Garden, a status that lets it join international networks such as BGCI (Botanic Gardens Conservation International), so a visit here covers plant conservation as much as animals.

Tickets and saving money

As of September 2026, admission runs on a tiered scale: children up to age 5 and visitors with disabilities enter free, Panamanians and residents aged 6 and over pay B/.2.00, retirees and students with a valid ID pay B/.1.00, and foreign visitors pay B/.5.00.

Getting there

The park sits right next to Soberanía National Park, less than an hour's drive from Panama City, at about kilometer 18 on the road to Gamboa. Once you're inside, stick to the marked, authorised parking areas — the park's rules are specific about it — and leave pets at home unless they're identified guide dogs. Children need a responsible adult with them throughout the visit.

Best time to visit

Panama has a short dry season from January to May and a longer rainy season from May to January. On a typical dry-season day in the capital, expect an early-morning low around 24°C and an afternoon high around 29°C — comfortable enough for the outdoor paths across the park's 50 hectares. The park itself is open Tuesday to Sunday, 8am to 4pm, and closed Mondays, so build that into a wider Panama City or Canal-area itinerary.

Other wildlife nearby

If the park's rescued animals leave you wanting to see Panama's wildlife in the wild, Soberanía National Park is right next door. It holds around 525 recorded bird species, and its Pipeline Road is rated one of the best places to see tropical birds anywhere in the Americas, with more than 400 species logged there. The park is also home to more than 100 mammal species, including jaguar, ocelot, margay and puma — the same kinds of predators the zoo's rescue programme exists to care for when they can't survive in the wild.