Santa Fe, Panama – Cerro Tute Exploring
I have watched youtube videos of places to go and things to do, and have been impressed by those of hikers going up Cerro Tute. Young hikers out of breath, hiking for hours to see the panaromic views from the Cerro which hovers protectingly at 1061m over Santa Fe, Veraguas with its sister hill Cerro Mariposa, known for its birding. Unlike Cerro Mariposa, Cerro Tute is deforested and known for —well rebels like you and me.
Not quite.
But it is known for rebel hideouts, first indian caciques lanced some of their resistance against the Spaniards from the cerro, and more recently in the 1950s a group of Fidel Castro inspired Panamanian university student rebels hid from the pursuing governmental forces in Cerro Tute. The government eventually lured them down with rumors of gun shipments, or so I hear. Many were killed, others escaped.
Today the Cerro hugs the edge of Santa Fe National Park. Country folk live in its hill sides. And, it has great views.
How we got there
Cele and I decided to check it out, but in our 4X4 rather than walking, to see how far we could get. They’ve been working on the road, and we saw our tax dollars at work with the new tourism authority signs for the cerro. So we followed them. We took the red route on the map below – starting point – the inn of course! We followed the signs south of town to the Cerro. 20 minute drive-up hill with some great views of town. We didn’t go all the way to the top I don’t even think we used the 4×4.
Recommendation?
How was it, well it was nice. (6.5/10). The problem with Santa Fe is that there are so many places with sweeping views. Was it fun, yeah. Were there great views, yup- looking out towards Santiago But it wasn’t forested, no fantastic rivers, and the drive wasn’t as interesting say as going to Alto Gonzales to the north, or the road to Guabal. There is an alternate route (blue), which is supposedly rougher.
Recommendation: Go up with a car for a picnic lunch or to watch the sun rise/sun set.
