Isla Palenque is a 400-acre island in Panama, covered with mature forests, lagoons, mangroves and beach ecosystems. A highly varied topography complements this varied natural environment. You may become intimately acquainted with one corner of the island by experiencing its unique qualities… yet you won’t necessarily understand any other part of the island. Isla Palenque may be difficult to get to know, but for this same reason, the island rewards extensive hiking.
Saying “400 acres of highly varied landscape” doesn’t actually give you a feel for Palenque’s size. Nor do our descriptions of “low-impact development” show you just how low-density the Resort at Isla Palenque is, especially compared to almost every other resort. Unless you’ve been involved in development planning, architecture, or a similar field, you probably need to see it to believe it.
Personally, I find it useful to compare Palenque to other places I know in order to get an intuitive feel for its size and scale. Google Earth’s satellite imagery helps me realize Palenque’s unspoiled wilderness and the size and shape of this island I’ve explored.
Take a virtual tour through this slideshow. See if it helps you picture Isla Palenque and appreciate the size of the island, as well as the inexhaustible opportunities for adventure in its diverse environments!
-
1 of 10
Isla Palenque, Panama
Isla Palenque, Panama: This satellite photo depicts the 400-acre private island and shows the entire master-planned resort at full build-out. With no more than 90 hotel rooms and around 200 homes spread out over the island, the entire built area comprises only 5% of the island. Such low-density development, in conjunction with a nature preserve comprising over 60% of the island’s area, ensures a wild, secluded, and natural experience for guests and residents.
-
2 of 10
New York City: Central Park and Upper West Side
New York City: You’re looking at the bottom two-thirds of Central Park; you can also see Broadway cutting diagonally through the Upper West Side in the photo’s lower half. In the upper left lies The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Natural History Museum occupies several blocks to the west of Central Park. At 843 acres, Central Park is roughly twice the size of Isla Palenque.
-
3 of 10
Chicago
The Loop: Here we see Chicago’s Loop, bordered on the north and west by the Chicago River, to the south by Columbus Drive, and to the east by Grant Park and Lake Michigan. Grant Park extends beyond the lower edge of the picture and features Buckingham Fountain, which you’ll see as a green diamond just west of the lake. Grant Park covers a total area of 319 acres.
-
4 of 10
Washington DC: The National Mall and surroundings
Washington DC, The National Mall: Go from the Washington Monument (on the left side of the photo) to the Capitol building (on the right side) and you’ve traveled 1.4 miles, just about the same as the length of Isla Palenque.
-
5 of 10
Miami: Miami Beach
Miami: A stretch of Miami beach. The expanse of green you see represents the Miami Beach Golf Club, which features a standard-sized, 150-acre, 18-hole golf course. Isla Palenque could fit almost 3 standard golf courses in its area.
-
6 of 10
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico: Nuevo Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico: This photo shows most of Nuevo Puerto Vallarta. You can see a few cruise ships anchored on the right side of the image. Lined up along the lower edge are nine high-end, insulated resorts, and the string of resorts that makes up Nuevo Vallarta continues outside the frame. Each of these resorts has more rooms than our total unit count, and all the resorts as a group must share a beach only slightly longer than our 3/4-mile Playa Palenque.
-
7 of 10
Cabo San Lucas
The IGY Cabo San Lucas Marina: The densely-populated Los Cabos Corridor features the extensive shopping and dining developments that you find at most traditional tourist destinations. In this photo, the dull salmon-colored L-shaped building that cups the uppermost edge of the marina is a huge shopping center. It includes 10 movie theaters and a parking lot with space for more than 2,000 cars.
-
8 of 10
Las Vegas
The Las Vegas Strip: Note the aqua half-circle butting up against the main drag just left of center in this photograph. This is the 8-acre man-made lake at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas; any glittering body of water or green foliage you find on the Las Vegas Strip has been installed by man. Housing density for Las Vegas, Nevada is 7 units per acre, whereas Isla Palenque has a housing density of 0.75 units per acre.
-
9 of 10
The Bahamas: Paradise Island
Paradise Island: This 685-acre island in the Bahamas features massive tower-style resorts and few private residences. The gargantuan resort under cloud cover, Atlantis Resort, boasts 3,500 rooms and a water park that would occupy more than a third of the area on Isla Palenque.
-
10 of 10
California: Yosemite National Park
California, Yosemite National Park: After the last few images, this photo seems much more in line with Isla Palenque. A blue-gray blur located center-right represents the historic Ahwahnee Hotel. With around 100 rooms and a sprinkling of nearby camping and activity areas, guests enjoy close proximity to Yosemite’s famous sites. While Isla Palenque is not a national park, the island’s jungle preserve allows visitors a close relationship with nature similar to the experience at Yosemite.
TAGS: Eco-Development Isla Palenque Panama Slideshows Sustainability
Post by Benjamin Loomis
Ben is the Founder and President of Amble Resorts. Meet Ben >>
More posts by Benjamin Loomis
