Of course, it’s not really “hidden.” In fact, some of Panama City’s oldest and most affluent families have been coming here for years.

But if you’re not in-the-know, you’d probably never hear of this place. Jessica gives you the scoop, below.

Panama’s Best Kept Secret

by Jessica Ramesch

A cool breeze tickles my neck as I take in the view from Gaital Hill. The sky is a gingham pattern of crisp blue and white now that the mists have dissolved in the afternoon sun. The fauna is deeply green and seems to cover everything. At the foot of the hill lies my destination…“the valley.”

Panama's Hidden Valley

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The drive into El Valle is my favorite part of visiting here. In the morning mist, the view of the Gaital Hill and Nature Reserve seems to appear out of nowhere as I follow the road that snakes into the town. The houses below are camouflaged by trees, so all I can see is green and more green. That is, until I reach the famous market, a riot of color bursting with flowers and sweet tropical fruit.

From its once-mighty volcano to its minuscule golden frogs, El Valle is a treasure of a town. Residents, many of them retired members of the Panamanian elite, rave about the strategic location and Spring-like climate.

Perhaps the best kept secret in Panama, El Valle is tucked into a crater five miles wide. About 2,000 feet above sea level, El Valle boasts fertile volcanic soil and a misty mountain clime. The combo makes this a gardener’s dream. Best of all, this cool oasis is only 45 minutes by car from Panama’s best Pacific beaches.

A tiny town, El Valle has grown in past years and today hosts a growing expat community, including North Americans, Europeans, and South Americans. Though there’s not much of a night life, the expat community in El Valle and the surrounding beaches has become much more active over the past two years. Expat events in the region include festivals and charity work, concerts and gourmet cooking classes, and much more.

Plus, El Valle is a true paradise for lovers of the outdoors. Whether or not you’re a bird watcher, you’ll marvel at the sheer variety of species. Tanagers, hummingbirds, and rare birds such as the mottled owl are frequently sighted here. It’s also the perfect place for plant lovers; city dwellers flock here to buy orchids at the weekend market.

One of the nicest places to visit is El Nispero Plant Nursery and Zoo. You’ll find more than 200 orchid species, as well as peacocks, storks, serpents, crocodiles, and the famous golden frogs that are unique to Panama.

Panama's Famous Golden Frogs

If the walking trail at El Nispero doesn’t whet your appetite for adventure, there are more challenging trails on Cerro Gaital. Or hike to the 125-foot waterfall, Chorro El Macho. The waterfall empties into a cool creek, the perfect spot for a swim or a summer day picnic. Or seek the therapeutic heat of the thermal springs and mud baths just off the main road to El Valle. Locals sit in the springs and then plunge into cold river water.

If you’re interested in indigenous culture, visit the El Valle Museum or La Pintada, a site where undecipherable petroglyph baffle historians.

Round out the day with a gourmet dinner at the hotel La Casa de Lourdes, known for its tasteful Tuscan décor.

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Going Fast: $30,000 Homes as Forgotten Peninsula Becomes Exclusive Retreat

A famous French architect is about to transform a quiet tropical peninsula into one of the world’s most exclusive retreats for the rich and famous. New York Magazine has hailed it: “the latest eco-playground with panache.” And now a torrent of big-name Hollywood stars have begun to descend on the area including Mick Jagger, Tom Cruise, Bruce Willis, Mel Gibson, Eddie Murphy, Brad Pitt, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. But you can still buy homes today along this peculiar piece of paradise for as little $30,000! Read More Here!

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Not so. The town of Cerro Azul, where Paul lives, was one of the trendiest places to have a home until the late 1980s or early 1990s. Then, for no apparent reason, the elite turned its attention to beach locations like Coronado, making Cerro Azul feel like something of a ghost town. From 2004 to 2008, when real estate prices all over Panama were steadily rising, Cerro Azul stayed surprisingly affordable. This was probably because expats flooding the country didn’t know about it. They were too busy in trendy locations like Boquete and Bocas del Toro.

But little Cerro Azul couldn’t remain a secret forever. Word got out, little by little, and a small expat community began to grow here. Today, Paul says at least 70 expats live in Cerro Azul. The effect has been a revitalization of sorts. Members of the Panamanian elite have rediscovered Cerro Azul as a weekend destination—just 30 minutes by car and you’ve left the city and its madness behind. And the full-time population continues to grow…

I went recently to check it out. The drive out of Panama City was easy, thanks to the excellent road. As we ascended, it seemed we were driving up, up, up into the clouds. Passing dairy farms and ranches, we came upon a colorful Chinese arch—an exotic accent amid the greenery and a signal that we were there.

Some people say that Cerro Azul is an “energy center,” and that in certain areas you can watch your compass go haywire. Perhaps this is why local groups come here for yoga and other spiritual retreats. Or perhaps they come simply because the pines and mountain peaks are an uplifting sight, complimented by jewel-toned hummingbirds and ginger flowers as tall as a ten-year-old.

You will find plenty of property for sale here, and if you get here now, you’re sure to uncover some real bargains. One lot for sale is just off an unpaved road and has water and energy service already installed. The lot is in a residential zone and is well over a half acre. Asking price: $17,600. For $40,000 you can get a half-acre lot in a gated community. A creek runs through the lot, which is in a cul-de-sac and has a distant ocean view.

If you prefer to buy a house and move right in, you’ll find even more options, from inexpensive cottages to big mountain mansions. One home is on offer for $80,000 and comes furnished. The four-bedroom, two-bath home comes with maid’s quarters with separate bath and a covered terrace. Another four-bedroom home is on offer for $90,000. It sits on a lot of nearly half an acre and comes with a pool, storage locker, and two covered terraces.

If your budget is in the $100,000 to $150,000 range, you will have even more options to choose from. One Swiss-style chalet is $120,000. It has four bedrooms and two baths, a balcony, and a patio.

Almost anything grows in abundance, from orchids to bromeliads that pop up wherever you look. It’s close to Panama City and to the international airport, but quiet and peaceful. Far from the city’s light pollution, you can actually see the stars…and there’s no noise to keep you from hearing the nightly symphony of frogs and crickets.

Most importantly, Cerro Azul may be right for you if you want breathtaking views but don’t want to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for property.

Where did I find these great property listings? Here!

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If you can do it properly, the time to buy may be now. Recognized as one of the Cheapest Places to Live and Best Place to retire Boquete Real Estate just got better.

The new government is committed to giving occupants title to their land protecting their rights and creating a stable environment for investment. President Ricardo Martinelli said in his inauguration address that “We will begin a massive land titling program, so what I can tell everyone who’s listening who has possessory rights, prepare these rights because you’re going to have your piece of land titled.”

The new governments first attempt at improving the titling process, Law 23, 2009, is a promising piece of legislation that equitably accounts for the needs of residents, investorsand government. Even if it isn’t implemented as well as it’s conceived, it’s only a matter of time before all ROP land is titled.

Purchasing Panama ROP Real Estate can pose  Challenges

Some of the best Panama property is claimed under the confusing ROP system instead of being fully titled. The best deals will be for land that isn’t fully titled. This is one thing that makes Boquete Panama one of the Cheapest Places to Live and Best Place to retire. Once titled, the competition for prime Panamanian properties will be much greater and the price much higher, but the risk will be much lower.

Under the ROP system, it is quite possible to find several conflicting claims to a plot of land, both registered and unregistered. This can cause a situation where the person selling the ROP may not actually be in a position to sell. The difficulties that some developers have had with ROP has scared a number of potential investors, but it has also educated people about the risks so they can now do something about them. There isn’t much Boquete Real Estate that falls into this category but there is plenty of property on the Caribbean Coast that does.

Trick to Investing in Panama ROP Real Estate

All it takes to discover these problems is a little investigation. Competing claims typically come from family members and neighbors so it is fairly straightforward to send investigators in to a potential land purchase to interview and get signed affidavits from  the family and neighbors.

Even with the recent correction in real estate prices, Panamanian vacation and retirement properties have a lot of promise. Tourism continues to grow and so do the number of foreigners looking to buy a holiday property in Panama and Boquete Panama in particular. It’s possible to buy ROP land quite safely with a little knowledge and effort and soon those ROP holdings will be fully titled.

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I have a small, postage stamp sized farm, far smaller than required for economic viability. Boquete coffee from either Jaramillo or the slopes of Volcan Baru is about the best in the world. I have written about growing, picking and drying in the past. Today, with the help of my friend Richard of Finca Dos Jefes, I am going to share my initiation to roasting coffee.

Finca Dos Jefes, located in El Salto on the foothills of Volcan Baru, produces an excellent crop of organically grown coffee. I showed up with a bag of beans of my own for Ricard to roast. One look at the beans and he explained they were not ready to roast. They were separated from the cherry, cleaned and dried but they still had the thin parchment layer around the beans. Perfect for aging, green coffee should be aged several months before roasting, but requires parchment removal.

Pretty with the parchment on in the photo above. Ready to roast without parchment in the photo below.

Richard is hand sorting the beans prior to roasting to remove any imperfect beans, stones or other debris. The roaster at Dos Jefes can roast about two kilos of coffee in approximately twenty minutes. You should always request freshly roasted coffee if you really want the flavor.

Release the beans from the hopper into the preheated rotating drum. The drum is at 420F before the beans are added. The temperature rapidly falls as the cool beans are introduced. It fell to 203F and then started to rise again. As the temperature increases, Richard checks the beans for color and aroma at various stages.

At 363F the beans have a pleasant aroma and are starting to gain color.

By 386F they have cracked, sounds like popcorn popping. The color is darker, a light roast.

By 405F the beans are at a medium roast, where I wanted them. The next step is to rapidly cool the beans. To do this they are dumped into this cooling tray and moved around until cool.

I was given the difficult task of opening the chute and emptying the roasted, cooled beans into a tray, where they need to rest for 12-24 hours before bagging them into a vacuum sealed bag. The process is impressive and the taste of your cup of coffee depends on the quality of the beans, the preparation for the roast, the roast and the freshness of the post roasted coffee.

I did not know that when roasting coffee loses about 20% of it’s green bean weight and puffs up also. I try to learn something new everyday, today was full of coffee lessons.

Put you nose up against the screen and smell the aroma of fresh roasted Boquete coffee. If that did not work call Richard for a roasting experience.

Richard is giving interactive coffee tours of Dos Jefes, in this real boutique coffee experience you can learn all you ever wanted to know about coffee production then roast your own organically grown coffee. You get to take a pound you roasted home with you to savor the experience. You can contact Richard at dosjefes@gmail.com or call his cell phone, 507 66 77 77 48 . Richard speaks more English than Spanish so don’t be shy.

Boquete Panama is a unique colony in the remote western mountains of Panama about thirty minutes north of David Panama in Chiriqui Provence. The climate is temperate, the population a mixture of ethnic groups from around the planet. Many were drawn to Boquete known as one of the top places to retire and Cheapest Places to Live.

As the world economy has melted down I was curious about how it has effected the Boquete Panama real estate market. This week I met with Janeth Gomez-Suarez of Casa Solution. Casa Solution is the most visible real estate brokerage in Boquete.

I asked Janeth if houses and properties are selling and if the price structure has dropped as the US and Panama City markets have lowered. I was surprised to hear the Real Estate business in Boquete is alive and well. People are coming to Boquete and shopping for houses. Most sales are in the two to three hundred thousand dollar range for homes. Sellers are a bit more open to offers and some will take less than asking prices. Most sellers are under no pressure to sell so although prices are not increasing, properties are not offered or sold at fire sale prices.

In addition there are many perspective buyers waiting to sell in the US so they can move As the resale housing market in the US recovers this market is set to boom.

The obvious question is why. There are several groups of buyers coming to Boquete. People who are politically disaffected, people who are economic realists and people who just want to change their lives. The politically disaffected come in cycles as the politics in US changes and many current residents left the US under G. W. Bush, the new group dislike the current administration.

A more interesting group are those baby boomers who realize they now have less. Less equity in their homes, less in their retirement savings, less need to consume and a desire to chance a change in exchange for a different life at a lower cost.

Boquete homes and properties are not the least expensive in Panama. The cultural and environmental aspects along with a new pro-investment government are becoming encouraging indicators of future growth. The crystal ball on Boquete seems pretty clear, growth is happening now, growth will continue and accelerate.

In July Business Week called Panama the “New Florida”, their reasoning is a mirror of mine and a harbinger of a bright future for Boquete.

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