We were in El Valle Panama last weekend on Sunday and I really wanted to write about this little town as it is one of the prettiest I have visited in Panama. 

When I first arrived in Panama, we travelled all across the country looking for the right place to move to.  El Valle was one of the first towns that I visited and I fell in love with it.  Why?  The properties are so well maintained, with large beautiful homes and gardens and flowers everywhere.  The properties are clean and green.  It’s hard to explain how different it is in El Valle compared with the rest of the country, even Boquete Panama.

Nested inside the crater of an extinct volcano, the town is surrounded by picturesque green jungle-like mountainsides.  It is located approximately 1.75 hours from Panama City so many of the urban dwellers flock to El Valle on weekends.  That is when the town is at its busiest.

On Sundays, El Valle features an open market with crafts, fruits and vegetables.  Before the battery in my camera gave out, I took this one picture of a craftsman working on one of his pieces.  He was painting a piece of pottery - a bird, I think. 

In the market, there is a tourism kiosk run by the Panamanian Tourism Bureau known as IPAT.  I visited the kiosk because I wanted to hear what was to visit in El Valle.  I also wanted to know where the best restaurant in town was.  The IPAT representative recommended many sites to visit and explore.  We managed to find the petroglyphs, and the canopy zipline tours,  the hotsprings, and the nicest surprise for lunch:  Casa de Lourdes Restaurant.

Casa de Lourdes Restaurant is set in a mostly outdoor dining area under giant arches of a Tuscan-style manor house, next to an outdoor swimming pool.  The cuisine is delightfully creative gourmet, fused with Panamanian food.  We managed to slip in to a table, despite not having a reservation (highly recommended on Saturdays and Sundays).  Both Lee and I enjoyed our lunch which was unfortunately interrupted.  I promised we would return though.  This restaurant is one of the most beautiful, and most elegant that I have seen in Panama.  I hope to be able to experience it over a long, relaxing dinner next time, without any unexpected interruptions !