Cerro Punta Highlands

This is the classic highlands loop. We climb out of the Volcán valley toward Cerro Punta, the highest town in Panama at nearly 2,000 meters, where the hillsides are stitched into a patchwork of lettuce, potato, carrot, and onion fields. They call this valley Panama's breadbasket — a huge share of the country's vegetables grows on these slopes.

The 650 meters of climbing are honest work, but the reward is riding lanes that thread right through the fields, with farmers at work on gradients that look impossible.

Past Cerro Punta we roll into Guadalupe, a flower-filled village pressed up against the mountains. From here the road brushes the edges of the cloud forest near La Amistad International Park — moss, mist, and the occasional flash of highland birdlife. Quetzal country begins where the pavement ends.

We stop for photos and a breather before the long, grin-inducing descent back down the valley.

Riders with a base level of fitness who want a real highland day. Four hours with 650 meters of climbing at close to 2,000 meters of altitude — cool air, big views, and a small group of six so nobody gets lost in the crowd.