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Boquete's biggest attraction is undoubtedly the ascent of Volcan Baru . A 22km road winds up through spectacular scenery to the peak, from which on clear days (unfortunately few and far between) both oceans can be seen. The volcano receives 5m of rain a year, and is often enveloped in thick cloud, so outside the dry season, your best chance of experiencing the view is to be on the peak at dawn. This is only possible if you camp out, walk all night or drive up a couple of hours before, but even if the view is partially obscured it is still a worthwhile climb. The first 6km of the road is paved, after which it becomes a rough track passable with 4WD only, and sometimes in the rainy season it becomes impossible even with 4WD - check conditions in town before you set off. To walk to the summit it's best to get a transporte urbana minibus or a taxi (US$4-5) to the end of the tarmac, beyond which it's a steep and strenuous four- to six-hour hike, and another six hours or so back to Boquete, unless you catch another minibus on the way down. If you're lucky you might be able to hitch a ride on a truck heading to one of the farms on the lower slopes, or even all the way to the summit with a telecommunications vehicle, but otherwise it's a long day's walk and you should take waterproof clothing and plenty of food and water. The road up passes coffee plantations tended by Ngobe labourers, which soon give way to majestic cloudforest, whose tall trees are bearded with lichen and covered with orchids and bromeliads. As you climb, the views of the Caldera Valley, the plains around David and the islands of the Golfo de Chiriqui open up, the air becomes cooler, and the cloudforest gradually gives way to stunted, elfin forest and finally to bleak, high-altitude paramo. Surrounded by seven long-extinct craters and crowned by a cluster of telecommunications aerials, the peak is often shrouded in cloud, but don't let this dishearten you - even in the depths of the rainy season the cloud breaks every so often to reveal the sight of at least one of the oceans and of the forest-covered mountains marching west to Costa Rica. Trails lead down the other side to Volcan and Cerro Punta, but they are difficult to follow without a guide. You can camp on the grassy plateau just below the peak, but it gets very cold at night and there is rarely any water available.
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