Day Trip: Adventures Embera Drua

The Emberá Drúa community is one of the villages at the top of the Chagres River. Ethnic group originally from Darien, from where they emigrated in search of a better life due to the dire economic situation and the dangers posed by the presence of smugglers in the area. The first to arrive in the community were Mr. Emiliano Caisamo, a medicinal plant farmer, and his wife Secundina Dequia, community midwife, along with his children.

Already in the year 84, that entire area became the Chagres National Park, and along with it came many restrictions on the Emberá, which led them to find alternatives to their way of life so far, hunting and agriculture. It is now when they decide to create a tourism program to generate the necessary money from day to day.

The first time I heard about them, I thought it was a show intended for tourists and performed only by large tour operators. Little by little, and from looking for information about them, I realized that it was not essential to hire a very expensive tour to visit them. We got in touch with Iván, who is in charge of tourism in the community, and we arranged a day to visit them.