It comprises a historical network of roads, fortresses, cities, and archaeological sites that connected the Caribbean Sea (Atlantic Ocean) with the Pacific Ocean starting in the 16th century.
Function: It was a strategic trade route of the Spanish colonial empire.
Treasures (gold, silver), goods, people, and mail from South and North America, the Philippines, and Spain were transported overland here.
Duration: Used from the 16th to the mid-18th century; it formed a crucial part of the global trade and communication system.
Components: It comprises six areas, including:
Historic parts of Panama City (Casco Antiguo).
Ruins of the first capital.
Fortifications such as Portobelo and San Lorenzo.
Roads such as the Camino Real and Camino de Cruces (precursor to the later Panama Railway and the Panama Canal).
This route illustrates how Panama formed a geopolitical bridge between two oceans and cultures for centuries, long before the Panama Canal.
It bears witness to colonial expansion, trade, and defense in the jungle.
