Taboga Island (), also known as the "Island of Flowers", is a volcanic island in the

Gulf of Panama The Gulf of Panama () is a gulf of the Pacific Ocean off the southern coast of Panama, where most of eastern Panama's southern shores adjoin it. The Gulf has a maximum width of , a maximum depth of and the size of . The Panama Canal connects the ...

. It is a tourist destination, with a small population of approximately 1,600 people, about from

Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

Geography

At low tide, the northern end of the island is joined by a sand bar to the small island of El Morro, and the south-eastern end is from the neighbouring

Urabá Island Urabá or Uraba may refer to: * Gulf of Urabá, a gulf in the Caribbean Sea in Colombia * Urabá Antioquia, a subregion of the Antioquia department, Colombia * Urabá Chocoano, a subregion of the Chocó department, Colombia * Urabá Island, an isl ...

. The island has a tropical rain forest climate (Af), with average daytime temperatures of . It is famous for its beautiful beaches, clear waters, soft sands and wildlife refuge.

Important Bird Area

The Taboga group, including neighbouring Urabá, Taboguilla and Chamá Islands, has been designated an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

because it supports significant breeding colonies of

brown pelican The brown pelican (''Pelecanus occidentalis'') is a bird of the pelican family, Pelecanidae, one of three species found in the Americas and one of two that feed by diving into water. It is found on the Atlantic Coast from New Jersey to the mouth ...

s. Other resident birds include

brown boobies The brown booby (''Sula leucogaster'') is a large seabird of the booby family Sulidae, of which it is perhaps the most common and widespread species. It has a pantropical range, which overlaps with that of other booby species. The gregarious brow ...

neotropic cormorant The neotropic cormorant or olivaceous cormorant (''Nannopterum brasilianum'') is a medium-sized cormorant found throughout the American tropics and subtropics, from the middle Rio Grande and the Gulf and Californian coasts of the United States so ...

great egret The great egret (''Ardea alba''), also known as the common egret, large egret, great white egret, or great white heron, is a large, widely distributed egret. The four subspecies are found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and southern Europe. R ...

s and

black-crowned night-heron The black-crowned night heron (''Nycticorax nycticorax'') r black-capped night heron commonly shortened to just night heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, including parts of Europe, Asia, and Nort ...

s, as well as an endemic subspecies of

streaked saltator The streaked saltator (''Saltator striatipectus'') is a species of saltator in the family Thraupidae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guadeloupe, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of V ...

. The Panama least gecko has been recorded.

History

The island was discovered in the 16th century and was originally named ''Isla de San Pedro'' by the Spanish explorer

Vasco Núñez de Balboa Vasco Núñez de Balboa (; c. 1475around January 12–21, 1519) was a Spanish people, Spanish explorer, governor, and conquistador. He is best known for crossing the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean in 1513, becoming the first European to ...

. Its current name derives from an Indian word ''aboga'' ("many fish"). The island's first settlers were Indian slaves from

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

and

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

. The small town of San Pedro was founded in 1524 by

Hernando de Luque Hernando de Luque (Unknown – 1533) was a Spanish priest who travelled to the New World in the 16th century. Luque was born in Olvera, Andalusia,Leon, P., 1998, The Discovery and Conquest of Peru, Chronicles of the New World Encounter, edited and ...

, dean of the Panama cathedral. The town church of the same name is claimed to be the second-oldest church in the hemisphere.

Rose of Lima Rose of Lima, TOSD (born Isabel Flores de Oliva; 20 April 1586 24 August 1617) (, ), was a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic in Lima, Peru, Spanish Empire, who became known for both her life of severe penance and her care of the pover ...

(1586–1617), the first Catholic saint of the Americas, may have been born on the island. In 1671 during Henry Morgan's sack of Panama English privateers led by

Robert Searle Robert Searle (alias John Davis) was one of the earliest and most active of the English buccaneers on Jamaica. Early life Nothing, to date, is known of his early life. The famous buccaneer chronicler, Esquemeling, states that Searle was � ...

raided and scoured the island as well as ones nearby looking for treasure and captives. The French painter

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...

visited the island in 1887.

Paul Gauguin in Taboga

Having worked for the first (French) attempt to dig a canal from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific, an attempt in which 22,000 workers lost their life, the French painter Paul Gauguin, taken ill, was sent for treatment in Taboga Island. He then returned to France, with a stopover in Martinique, and then left for the Marquesas. His stay in Taboga is marked by an engraved plate on the island's main beach.

Tourism

Tourism is the major economic activity on the island, although fishing and agriculture are also practiced. The island has become a popular touristic attraction due to its natural areas and its proximity to Panama City. Daily

ferries A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...

link the city to the island, most of them departing from the Amador Causeway. Apart from beaches, the island has trails for

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

to its highest points, including Cerro Vigía and Cerro de la Cruz. The latter is a hill located south of the town, topped with a huge cross. Many activities are available such as boat tours for fishing, whale-watching, snorkeling, mountain tours and sightseeing, as well as walking and nature tours. The Cementerio do Taboga (Cemetery of Taboga), the oldest cemetery on the island, has decorative headstones and graves.

References

External links

Taboga Island The Island Of Flowers

Taboga Island

Taboga Panamá
{{Authority control Gulf of Panama Panamá Province Important Bird Areas of Panama Pacific islands of Panama