Darién National Park, National park and UNESCO World Heritage Site in Darién province, Panama

Darién National Park is a protected area in Darién Province, southernmost Panama, covering 5,790 km² between the Serranía del Darién range and the Pacific coast. Its southern boundary follows about 90 percent of the Colombia–Panama border, adjoining Los Katíos National Park. Habitats range from rocky coastlines and sandy beaches to mangroves, swamps and tropical forest, and the park is a designated Important Bird Area.

Darién National Park was created in 1980 on land that had been part of the Alto Darién Protection Forest since 1972, when 700,000 hectares received that status. UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site in 1981 and a biosphere reserve in 1983, with 859,333 hectares under that designation. The Darién Gap, the break in the Pan-American Highway, has kept the park isolated.

The Emberá and Wounaan people have lived here for generations and continue their traditional ways of hunting and fishing that shape daily life in their settlements. Visitors can meet community members and see how they maintain their customs within the forest.

Access to the park requires careful planning and permits from Panamanian authorities, with entry typically by small aircraft to remote airstrips or overland to frontier towns followed by boat travel. Local guides are essential for safe navigation through the terrain and to understand the area.

The Darién Gap is the only break in the Pan-American Highway between Argentina and Alaska. The roadless stretch has kept the park's forests linked to those of Colombia's Los Katíos National Park, which borders it to the south.