Panama Canal Miraflores Tour

Description

• The History Hall portrays the background, technological innovations, and sanitary initiatives that went hand in hand with the construction of the Canal. This exhibition hall honors the hundreds of men and women who made this achievement possible.
• The Hall of Water: Source of Life
  emphasizes the importance of water, conservation of the environment and biodiversity, protection of the Canal Watershed, and the ACP’s commitment to the sustainable management of this resource and the interoceanic region.
• The Canal in Action depicts in an amusing manner how the Canal operates and allows us the experience of being inside a navigation simulator and one of the lock culverts. A virtual ocean-to-ocean transit is also made possible through the use of a topographical model. This exhibition showcases Canal improvement, modernization, and maintenance projects.
• The Canal in the World provides information on the importance of the Canal to world trade; describes the trade routes it serves; and identifies its main users, the various types of vessels that transit the waterway, and the commodities they carry. In addition, it presents an overview of studies conducted in order to guarantee the future competitiveness of the Canal and the benefits to the Republic of Panama.

The Panama Canal is one of the most fascinating places in the world, has a length of approximately 80 kilometers. Between 13,000 and 14,000 ships use the Canal yearly, approximately 9,000 workers, working 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, offering transit service to ships of all nations.

The Canal uses a locks system that act as water elevators raising the ships from sea-level (Atlantic or Pacific) to 26 meters above sea-level to the Gatun Lake. Each set of locks carries the name of the town where it was built: Gatún (on the Atlantic side), Pedro Miguel and Miraflores (on the Pacific).

The visitor center at the Miraflores Locks, the ideal place to see the Canal operating, have a theatre to watch a short movie about the past, present and future of the canal, a museum, a large balconies from which visitors can see the locks open and close as the ships begin or end their transit, a souvenier shop, a restaurant (lunch and dinner) and a place for snacks.

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The Future of the Canal: today the actual Panama Canal no permits the passing of modern ships like the Post-Panamax that transport a load of up to 12,000 containers . For that reason and to take advantage of the Panama route today there are new set of locks been constructed expecting to be ready for 2014 at the 100 Birthday’s of the Panama Canal. The New Locks or “The third set of Locks” as call, will be wider, longer and deeper design especially for the “humongus” cargo ships to cross the Canal, permiting savings 14 days if they travel all the way to Cabo de Hornos, Argentina.

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