The Pearl Islands (Spanish: Archipiélago de las Perlas or Islas de las Perlas) is a group of 200 or more islands and islets (many tiny and uninhabited) lying about off the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

coast of

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 ...

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 ...

Islands

The most notable island is Contadora Island (or Isla Contadora in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

), known for its resorts. Contadora was said to be used by the

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

s as a stop for taking inventory of booty prior to returning to Spain, hence the name (''contador'' means counter or bookkeeper in

). Contadora is a resort island, with many homes owned by wealthy Panamanians. There are a large hotel and other cabins available. Most of the resort workers live on nearby Isla Saboga. Domestic airline

Air Panama Air Panama is a regional airline based at Albrook "Marcos A. Gelabert" International Airport in Panama, and is currently the second-largest air carrier in the country, surpassed only by Copa Airlines. The carrier offers both scheduled and charte ...

no longer flies between

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 ...

and Contadora and Isla San José. FlyTrip, a new domestic airline, flies on Fridays and Sundays. While Sea de Las Perlas Ferry does daily trips to Contadora and Saboga islands (which are islands near Las Perlas). This ferry also goes to Vivieros, San Miguel and Isla Bolaños. There are a few hotel options in Contadora which are mostly boutique hotels, bed and breakfasts, inns and some vacation homes. Saboga, Isla Bolaños, Viveros and Isla San Jose have lodging options. The largest island, at , is Isla del Rey ("Island of the King"), its name probably referring to Christ the King rather than to a secular king. Isla del Rey has several towns, most notably San Miguel. It is easily larger than the other Pearl Islands combined, and is the second largest island in Panama, after

Coiba Coiba () is the largest island in Central America, with an area of , off the Pacific coast of the Panamanian province of Veraguas. It is part of the Montijo District of that province. History Coiba separated from continental Panama between 1 ...

. Other islands in the archipelago include Bayoneta Island, Bolano Island, Buena Vista Island, Cana Island, Casaya Island, Chapera Island, Chitre Island, Cocos Island, Espiritu Santo Island, Galera Island, Gallo Island,

Isla Gibraleón Isla Gibraleón is a small, uninhabited Panamanian island that is part of the Pearl Islands archipelago () in the Gulf of Panama. It is located west of Isla Casaya, and is part of a group of 200 or more islands and islets (many tiny and uninh ...

, Isla Bayoneta, Lampon Island, Marin Island, Mina Island, Mogo Mogo o Pajaro, Pacheca Island, Pachequille Island, Pedro Gonzalez Island, Puerco Island, Isla San José, Senora Island, Vivenda Island, and Viveros Island. The island of Galera has a façade of very tall coconut palm trees and a white sandy beach. Strong currents, combined with shallows and jagged reefs surrounding the island, make navigation near the island perilous.

History

Three million years ago the

Isthmus of Panama The Isthmus of Panama, historically known as the Isthmus of Darien, is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North America, North and South America. The country of Panama is located on the i ...

was created. Until then North and South America were divided by sea. It was the biggest and reportedly the most significant geological event in 60 million years. Prior to that date as the Earth's plates had begun to join the Pearl Islands were created and they emerged from the sea. On Contadora Island and other islands in the group

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

artifacts have been found. The biggest island is Isla del Rey where more than fifteen pre-Columbian recognised archeological sites of the “Cuevas” and “Cocle” cultures have been identified. However, none of the original population remain. The islands were first occupied by native populations who were (with their leader Terarequí) wiped out within two years of the islands' discovery by the Spanish. Spaniard

Vasco Nunez de Balboa Vasco may refer to: People Given name Middle Ages * Vasco da Gama (c. 1460s–1524), Portuguese explorer * Vasco Núñez de Balboa (1475–1519), Spanish conquistador * Vasco Fernandes Coutinho, captain of Espírito Santo (1490–1561), Portuguese ...

named the islands Pearl Islands on his discovery of them in 1513 due to the many pearls which were found there. Another Spaniard,

Gaspar de Morales Gaspar is a given and/or surname of French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish origin, cognate to Casper (given name) or Casper (surname). It is a name of christian origin, per Saint Gaspar, one of the three wise men mentioned in the Armenian I ...

, part of a rogue group not under Balboa's authority, murdered 20 local Indian chiefs not long after and gave them to his dogs to tear to pieces. The Spaniards then needed workers to harvest pearls and imported slave labour in the 16th century from Africa whose descendants now live on the islands, particularly del Rey. The islands were frequently used by pirates in the following years and were relatively undisturbed until the 1960s and 1970s. The Shah of Iran retreated to the resort building on Contadora in 1979.

Environment

The Chamber for Sustainable Tourism Las Perlas aims to preserve the islands' delicate ecological balance.

Important Bird Area

The archipelago 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 ...

Publicity

The Pearl Islands are a popular location for

reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 199 ...

programs, particularly ''

Survivor Survivor(s) may refer to: * one who survives Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Survivors, characters in the 1997 KKnD series#Armies, ''KKnD'' video-game series * ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Foundation'', a fictional ...

''. The American edition has had 3 seasons (namely '' Survivor: Pearl Islands'', '' Survivor: All-Stars'' and '' Survivor: Panama'') set on the islands. Season 2 of the Israeli version of the program (titled '' Survivor: Pearl Islands''), season 1 of ''

Survivor South Africa ''Survivor South Africa'' is a South African Reality television#Reality competition or game shows, reality game show based on the popular international ''Survivor (franchise), Survivor'' format. As in all versions of the show, it features group ...

'' (titled '' Survivor South Africa: Panama''), season 4 of the French edition (titled '' Koh-Lanta: Panama''), season 3 of the Bulgarian version (titled '' Survivor BG: Pearl Islands'') and Ukrainian versions of the show were all set on the islands. Other programs, namely

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

TV series ''

The Real Swiss Family Robinson ''The Real Swiss Family Robinson'' is a four-part BBC television miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries ...

'', the British TV series ''

The Island with Bear Grylls ''The Island with Bear Grylls'' is a British reality television programme which premiered on Channel 4 on 5 May 2014 and ran for five series, plus a renamed sixth series and a spin-off series. Narrated by Bear Grylls, participants in the show ...

'' (which used the islands of

and

Isla San Telmo Isla San Telmo is located in the southeast area of the Pearl Islands in Panama. It is the first landsighting when sailing to the port of Panama. The Reserva Natural Isla San Telmo was established in 1996 as a protection measure for the island; ...

) and season 1 of the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

television series '' Adam Looking for Eve'' used Mogo Mogo Island as location. The third season of '' The Challenge: All Stars'' filmed its final challenge on San José Island.

MrBeast James Stephen "Jimmy" Donaldson (born May 7, 1998), commonly known by his online alias MrBeast, is an American YouTuber, media personality, and businessman. His YouTube videos, where he often hosts elaborate challenges and philanthropic effor ...

's ''

Beast Games ''Beast Games'' is a 2024 reality competition television series created by YouTuber Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson, Tyler Conklin, Sean Klitzner, and Mack Hopkins. Hosted by Donaldson, ''Beast Games'' follows 1,000 contestants—the largest cast fo ...

'' also used Isla La Vivienda as a filming location.

References