When we think of Panama we always think of the Panama Canal. However, Panama has much more - a coastline of palm fringed beaches, amazing wildlife with a diversity of tropical birds, and its indigenous peoples including the Kuna. The name "Panama" means "abundance of fish and butterflies" in the indigenous language.

The Panama Canal is considered to be one of the Eight Wonders of the modern World and is one of the most fascinating places in the world linking two oceans. The canal is approximately 50 miles long with some 13,000 - 14,000 ships passing through annually.

Panama faces two oceans - The Pacific and the Caribbean Sea. The east coast faces the Caribbean and has beaches that are small to medium sized and all have coral reefs nearby. These are the best beaches for scuba diving. On the west coast are a series of beaches easily accessed from the Panamerican Road.

By way of a contrast, Panama is the only capital city in Latin America with a Tropical rainforest only 10 minutes away. This forest has a wide variety of flora and fauna with more than 10,000 plant species and over 1,000 varieties of birds.

Climate

Panama has a tropical maritime climate with temperatures normally around 25-30 degrees C. They have just 2 seasons - a dry sunny season from December to April and the rainy season May to November. Panama is situated south of the hurricane tracks and is normally not affected by these tropical storms.

Financial.

The Panamanian currency is the Balboa which has parity with the US dollar. The US dollar is legal tender in Panama. Therefore they do not print bank notes although they do mint their own coins.

Panama has a highly developed international banking sector with more than 150 banks from 35 countries having established branches, including HSBC, Citibank and Dresdner Bank.

Panama has established very flexible banking legislation which means that it eliminates all duties, fiscal charges and control over operations carried out abroad. Amongst the advantages of banking in Panama are free movements of foreign currency, a favourable taxation environment, total banking secrecy, numbered account services and free use of the US Dollar.