Monkey Island and Sloths: Wild or at the Sanctuary

There are two ways to add sloths to a Monkey Island trip. The sure one is Gamboa’s sloth sanctuary, where rescued two-toed and three-toed sloths are cared for beside the Gamboa Rainforest Reserve’s butterfly house, orchid garden and frog exhibit; Tao Travel 365 Tours pairs it with two hours on the lake, entry included, from $150 a person (checked October 2026), Tuesday to Sunday. The other is to look for wild sloths in the forest of Soberania National Park, from a safari truck or on foot, which costs less but depends on luck.

The sloth tours side by side

Listing prices checked October 2026; the charges on the day are those each listing states, checked October 2026. Prices are per person.

The sanctuary in Gamboa

The sloth sanctuary is part of the Gamboa Rainforest Reserve, beside the Chagres River at Gamboa, with its ecological exhibits: a butterfly house with blue morphos, an orchid garden and a frog exhibit. The sanctuary’s work is led by the Pan-American Conservation Association, and a visit takes 45 minutes to an hour. The sloths there were rescued, both two-toed and three-toed, so you see them at close range, which the boat and the forest cannot promise. The reserve also runs an aerial tram up to a lookout tower over Gatun Lake and the Chagres River, as a separate tour.

Both sanctuary tours start with the boat on Gatun Lake to the monkey islands, then the sanctuary and the exhibits, with hotel pickup in Panama City; Monkey Adventures Panama boards its boat at the Gamboa Rainforest Reserve. Tao Travel 365 Tours runs from Tuesday to Sunday, at 6:30 am, 10:00 am and 1:00 pm, in groups of up to ten; it is wheelchair accessible. Monkey Adventures Panama takes up to twelve.

Check dates for the sanctuary tour

Wild sloths instead

On the canal wildlife day a safari truck drives the roads around Soberania National Park before the boat, with binoculars and a spotting scope, looking for sloths, toucans and crocodiles. On Panama A la Carte's trip the boat comes first, then a 2 km walk on Pipeline Road, the forest track out of Gamboa that Panama’s environment ministry keeps open on foot only, from 6:30 am to 4:00 pm. Both look for the animals in the wild, with no guarantee.

Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (checked October 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.

Who should pick something else

• You only want the monkeys: see the Gatun Lake boat tours compared.
• You want to know which monkeys you will see: see the monkeys of Monkey Island.
• You also want the locks: see the canal locks and Monkey Island.