Guararé

The small, not particularly scenic town of Guararé (pop. 3,883) is famous throughout Panama [1] for the Festival Nacional de la Mejorana [2], a huge folkloric festival held annually in September. There’s little reason to visit the town between festivals.

Guararé is right on the main highway linking Chitré [3], 25 kilometers to the north, and Las Tablas [4], 5 kilometers to the south. The main town is just east of the highway.

It boasts a tiny folkloric museum [5], a couple of fireworks factories that are probably worth staying well clear of on a hot day, and an elaborate open-air stage on the church plaza that was built for the Mejorana.

A quite decent hotel, Hotel La Mejorana [6], is on the west side of the highway and a quite basic hospedaje is on the east side. The hotel is the best bet for food, though there are some other basic eateries in town.

La Enea (pop. 1,128), sometimes called La Enea de Guararé, is an even tinier town tucked away just north of Guararé, toward the coast. It’s sort of a suburb of Guararé and is famous for producing beautiful polleras [5] (hand-embroidered dresses). Beyond it are a couple of mediocre beaches, Playa Bella Vista and Playa El Puerto, that aren’t worth a special trip. That’s just about it.