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The Panama Canal was one of the greatest engineering feats of all time. It’s a must see when visiting Panama City. If you’re not interested in the engineering part of the story, it’s incredible just to see the huge ships passing through.
Introduction to the Panama Canal
On my way to visit the Miraflores Locks at the Panama Canal, my taxi driver told me how life in Panama seems to be dominated by the canal.
“Every day,” he said, “something about the canal is on the news. We can’t escape it.”
The Panama Canal is vital to the country of Panama for income and jobs, and after being handed over by the US in 1999, it has become a source of national pride.
Since 1534, there had been talk of a canal through the Isthmus of Panama. The first actual attempt was made by the French in 1881, under the leadership of Ferdinand de Lesseps (1805-1894). The project was abandoned in 1889 due to bankruptcy. Engineering problems and a high death rate among workers suffering from yellow fever and malaria also contributed to its failure.
The US resumed the project in 1904, shortly after Panama gained independence from Colombia. They finally completed the gargantuan engineering project in 1914. After several years of contentious US control of the Panama Canal Zone, the canal was finally turned over to Panama in 1999. It remains one of the most difficult projects of all time and has been named one of the seven wonders of the modern world.
The Panama Canal is 77.1 kilometers (48 miles) long with 3 sets of locks – Miraflores, Pedro Miguel, and Gatun. They allow ships to transit between the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea in about eight hours, not including waiting time. Ships pay a toll depending on their class and weight, which could end up being several hundred thousand dollars. Smaller pleasure craft must pay as well.
Visiting the Panama Canal
The Miraflores Visitor Center and the Agua Clara Visitor Center are the two official places to see the locks in action. The Miraflores Visitor Center overlooks the Miraflores Locks while the Agua Clara Visitor Center gives a unique perspective of the lock expansion that opened in 2016, just east of the original Gatun Locks. Both are open daily. Prices below are current as of October 2025. Check the official website for more info.
- Admission to the Miraflores Visitor Center for foreign nationals and nonresidents of Panama is US$17.22 for adults, US$7.22 for kids age 6-12, and free for kids under 6. Tickets include a 45-minute IMAX film. Visits last about 90 minutes.
Bus C810 from the Albrook Bus Terminal is the easiest way to get there. Be aware that taxis will often try to charge tourists double the normal rate.
- Admission to the Agua Clara Visitor Center for foreign nationals and nonresidents of Panama is US$10 for adults, US$5 for kids age 6-12, and free for kids under 6. Tickets include a 12-minute video and transportation to the Gatun Locks Viewing Deck. Visits last about 3 hours.
If you don’t have your own transportation, you can take a bus to Colón and then hop on a colectivo or take a taxi to the visitor center. You can combine the locks with a visit to nearby Fort San Lorenzo.
In addition, some companies offer opportunities to do a canal transit cruise or visit the artificial Gatun Lake. You can also spot the Pedro Miguel Locks from pullouts along the highway. There are several sites in Balboa related to the canal as well as the Panama Canal Museum in Casco Viejo.
Miraflores Locks
The Miraflores Locks are the most easily accessible set of locks and the closest to Panama City. If you’re limited on time and want to get the basic canal experience, Miraflores does the trick.
A narrator at the viewing platform gives a play-by-play in both English and Spanish of what is happening to each ship that enters the locks. They point out important people on the ground and on the ship and give facts about the ships that are passing through at that moment. Watching the ships pass through is amazing in itself, but the narrator really makes the experience even more interesting and worthwhile.
At Miraflores, which is on the Pacific side, ships change their level 16.5 meters in two stages. As ships enter the locks, the huge gates close behind them. The gates are original from the canal opening in 1914.
After the gates close, the water level is raised or lowered depending on the direction the ships is traveling. When the lock is filled or emptied, you can see the water bubbling. The lock in the picture below is being filled while water in the lock that contains the ship is being lowered.
Once the water level is equal to the next stage, the gates open and the ship is pulled through by two small trains, or “mules”, that guide it and keep it from hitting the walls. There isn’t much room to spare!
While the viewing platform at the Miraflores Visitor Center is a great experience, my only problem is that it can get overcrowded by tourists fighting each other for a good spot. All the pushing and shoving is frustrating.
Other Features of the Miraflores Visitor Center
In addition to the viewing platform, you can enjoy a 45-minute IMAX film about the canal narrated by Morgan Freeman. When I visited, there was also an interesting museum. The restaurant closed in 2020 and hasn’t reopened (as of October 2025).
The museum does a good job of explaining the history of the canal and how it works. Plenty of maps and charts show visitors the canal in numbers and give important facts about who it serves and its importance to the world. The second floor includes an exhibit on the nature found in the area around the canal. The upper floors have some great interactive displays showing what it’s like to guide a ship through the canal. (Note: the museum has been reported as “under renovation” (as of October 2025).)
Agua Clara Visitor Center
If you have more time to spare, head to the Agua Clara Visitor Center on the Caribbean side. It’s located near the city of Colón. This is the best place to simply view ships passing through the locks and to see the expansion project. You can also visit the Gatun Locks, which is the longest and most impressive set of locks along the Panama Canal. In addition, there’s a 1-kilometer walk along a country road with a unique perspective of the expansion as well as a 0.5-kilometer ecological trail.
When I visited in 2015, the Agua Clara Visitor Center had not opened. The Panama Canal Expansion Project was under construction and the Gatun Locks was the only attraction in the area. These new locks opened in 2016 and can accommodate much bigger ships. I was able to get a blurry shot of the project as we drove by.
Gatun Locks
(Note: A new viewing platform was built after my visit on the other side of the locks. All pictures below are from the old viewing platform.) The Gatun Locks changes a ship’s level 26 meters in three stages. At the time they were built, a record 1,820,000 cubic meters of concrete was poured during their construction. This much concrete could build a wall 2.6 meters thick and 3.6 meters high running for 213 kilometers!
Near the entrance, there are a couple retired mules that used to pull ships through the canal. From there, follow the footprints to the viewing platforms. I accidentally went into a restricted area and managed to get a few shots off before security came and removed me.
Once I was at the correct viewing platform, I had an up close and personal look at the ships passing through. I felt like I could reach out and touch them!
Even better, I didn’t have to deal with hordes of people elbowing me to get a glimpse. As at Miraflores, there was a narrator explaining what was happening as the ships passed through the locks.
If you have the opportunity, drive over the canal on the small one-lane swing bridge. You’ll have a unique perspective of the locks and of the canal as it opens up into the Caribbean Sea.
Gatun Dam
Further down the road is the Gatun Dam, which created Gatun Lake, once the largest artificial lake in the world, by damming the Chagres River (Río Chagres). The dam is another great engineering feat, and its creation submerged 262 square kilometers of jungle and villages. Hydroelectric power generated by the dam provides electricity for the locks.
Town of Balboa
If you’d like to learn more about the history of the Panama Canal Zone, Balboa has some interesting sites. Now a district of Panama City, it was once a separate town in the Canal Zone.
Balboa was founded by the United States as the capital and administrative center of the Panama Canal Zone. It was originally a marshland redeveloped by the Army Corps of Engineers. The town was named for Spanish conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa (c. 1475-1519). Its open American-style design is distinctly different than the rest of Panama City with much more green space.
The town contained government–operated schools, a movie theatre, bowling alley, post office, two private banks, several churches, civic clubs, a Masonic Lodge, a YMCA, and police and fire stations. Several of these buildings still stand.
Panama Canal Administration Building
The crown jewel of Balboa is the Panama Canal Administration Building, which sits on top of a small hill. It housed both canal administration offices and the government for the Panama Canal Zone. It continues to be used as the administration center for the Panama Canal today. It’s open to the public Monday through Friday from 7am to 4pm. There’s no admission (as of October 2025).
The building was commissioned by George Washington Goethals (1858-1928), the military officer and engineer who oversaw the construction and opening of the Panama Canal. He also served as the first Governor of the Panama Canal Zone. The E-shaped building was designed by Austin W. Lord (1860) in the Italian Renaissance style. Construction began in 1912 and it was inaugurated on July 15, 1914.
The rotunda of the building contains some impressive murals by American artist William B. Van Ingen (1858-1955). They cover about 1,000 square feet and illustrate the story of the construction of the Panama Canal. The murals were created in New York in 1914 and transported to Panama for installation.
Depicted are the Gaillard (Culebra) Cut excavation, the construction of the Gatun Dam, the construction of one of the gates of the Gatun Locks, and the construction of the Miraflores Locks. Underneath is a frieze depicting a continuous scene of the Gaillard Cut excavation.
Gaillard Memorial
At the bottom of the stairway leading downhill from the Administration Building is a memorial for David du Bose Gaillard (1859-1913), the engineer of the Panama Canal’s Gaillard Cut (now the Culebra Cut). The Gaillard Cut was the greatest engineering project of its time. Through Gaillard’s hard work and dedication, he saved the US Government over $17 million.
Goethals Monument
The large monument further down is dedicated to George Washington Goethals. The Goethals Monument was authorized by Congress on August 24, 1935, but wasn’t completed until August 1953. It was unveiled to the public on March 31, 1954.
The monument was designed by Alfred P. Shaw (1895-1970) of Chicago and made of white Vermont marble. The high central part of the monument symbolizes the Continental Divide, while the piles on the sides represent the three sets of locks along the canal.
Stevens Circle
At the end of Paseo del Prado is Stevens Circle, which contains a monument dedicated to John Frank Stevens (1853–1943), the chief engineer of the Panama Canal project from 1905 to 1907. He convinced Theodore Roosevelt to adopt a lock-and-lake system rather than a sea-level canal and is credited with improving sanitation conditions for workers. The monument was inaugurated on July 26, 1963, and the circle was named in his honor a year earlier.
Teatro Balboa
Finally, Teatro Balboa is an Art Deco building constructed by the Panama Canal Company between 1946 and 1950. It was designed by architects John Eberson (1875-1954) and his son Drew (1904–1989). The theatre has a capacity of 1,145.
Amador Causeway
The Amador Causeway is a 2-mile stretch of road connecting three small islands – Isla Naos (along with Punta Culebra), Isla Perico, and Isla Flamenco – to the mainland. While it may not seem directly related to the Panama Canal, the islands were once part of the Canal Zone and used for its defense during World War II. The causeway itself was built in 1913 using rocks from the excavation of the Culebra Cut.
Ever since control of the Canal Zone reverted to Panama, the islands opened up to development. Marinas, hotels, a shopping center, and several restaurants have turned the islands into a recreational area. A bike and walking path along the causeway make it a popular place to get some exercise. The Amador Causeway is also a great place to spot all the big ships lining up to transit the Panama Canal.
Biomuseo
The Frank Gehry-designed Biomuseo, which opened in 2014, is located on the mainland at the beginning of the causeway. It “celebrates the biological and cultural diversity of Panama”. The museum is open daily except Mondays. Admission for non-residents is US$20 for adults, US$16 for seniors, US$12 for students with a valid ID and kids age 5-17, and free for kids under 5 (as of October 2025).
Isla Naos
Isla Naos is the first island you’ll come to. It contains the laboratories of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
Punta Culebra is a small peninsula that juts out from Isla Naos. It’s the home of the Punta Culebra Nature Center, which is the visitor center of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. It’s open Wednesday through Sunday with an admission of US$10 for non-resident adults and US$3 for kids under 13 (as of October 2025).
Also, the Calypso Ferry to Isla Taboga leaves from La Playita at Punta Culebra (as of October 2025).
Isla Perico
Isla Perico has a small strip of restaurants and shops. On the highest point is Battery Newton, which once housed a 16-inch disappearing gun. Today, there’s a radar installation and the top of the hill is off limits to the public.
Isla Flamenco
Isla Flamenco is the island at the end of Amador Causeway and also the most developed. It has a beautiful marina surrounded by several restaurants. The Taboga Express Fast Ferry to Isla Taboga leaves from the Fuerte Amador Mall (as of October 2025).
