Introduction to David, Panama

The only one of three Spanish settlements founded in the area in 1602 to survive repeated attacks from indigenous groups, DAVID developed slowly as a marginal and remote outpost of the Spanish Empire – as late as 1732 it was overrun and destroyed by British-backed Miskito groups raiding from Nicaragua. Only as settlement of Chiriquí increased in the nineteenth century did David begin to thrive as a marketing and transportation centre. Today, despite being a busy commercial city – the third largest in Panamá – and the focus of Chiriquí's strong regional identity, it retains a sedate provincial atmosphere. Hot and dusty, with unexceptional modern architecture spread out on a well-planned grid (the only surviving feature of the original colonial settlement), David has few attractions but is a good place to break a journey between Panamá City and Costa Rica, Bocas del Toro or the Chiriquí highlands – the last can be visited as a day-trip, though it's much better to stay up in Boquete or Cerro Punta if you have the time.

Information by Rough Guides

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