Darién National Park

In this vast wilderness the Jaguar prowls river edges and forest trails, its tracks and kills marking one of the last strongholds for the great cat in the region. Alongside it, bands of White-nosed Coatis forage noisily through the leaf litter, tails held high, when mammal movement across the park is at its most active.

Flocks of Great Green Macaws, Red-lored Parrots and Blue-headed Parrots gather to feed where fruiting and nut-bearing trees are heavy, filling the forest with raucous calls and flashes of green, red and blue. Their noisy congregations make this the easiest time to catch large parrots streaming across the canopy.

Three primates share the treetops here, and when fruit ripens they feed in the open canopy at once: troops of Mantled Howler Monkeys roar at dawn, White-throated Capuchins scramble through the branches, and the endangered Black-headed Spider Monkey swings on long limbs overhead. It's the best window to spot all three species in a single morning.