+507 779 2373
info@tamanduaphoto.com
Our main office is located in Cerro Punta, a small town in the Chiriquí Highlands, 1-hour drive away from David International Airport, and within very short distance from some of the best birding and nature trails in the country (and the whole of Central America), as well as our hummingbird and mountain bird gardens.
Close to Cerro Punta, Tamandúa manages a private 100 hectare reserve in the heart of the Highlands cloud forest. The reserve contains a great variety of species, including most of the regional endemics from the Talamanca mountain range.
Tamandúa’s birding and nature guides are fully certified by the Panama Tourism Authority and have all the licenses and permits to operate across the country. They are expert drivers in all kinds of terrain. Before joining Tamandúa, they have spent years working as freelance guides for some of the best-known lodges and hotels in Panama, gaining unparalleled experience in finding and identifying the most sought-after species in the country. All are fluent in English, as well as Spanish.
Genover “Ito” Santamaria
Testimonials about Ito in Trip Advisor
One of the best-known and highest-ranked guides in Panama, Ito was born in the city of David, Chiriquí, in 1982. At age 12 he started working as a tourism guide for Los Quetzales lodge in the Chiriquí highlands, and his love for birds and nature soon had him helping biologists and researchers in their annual Christmas Bird Count and many other surveys, and specializing in birdwatching and wildlife guiding.
Before becoming a full-time staff guide with Tamandúa, Ito has worked as freelance with some of the world’s leading conservation organizations and birding tour companies. He successfully finished his ATP (Panama Tourism Authority) training and certification in 2016.
Tours guided by Ito:
Karina Navarro de Santamaria
Born in Volcán, Chiriquí, Karina has a BBA in Business Administration, specializing in Human Resources. She has more than 17 years of experience in Customer Service, logistics and management in hotels and tourism projects in Panama, and is certified as Tourism Guide by the ATP. She is in charge of Tamandúa’s guest services and manages our Chiriquí office, as well as the maintenance of our hummingbird and highland bird gardens.
Euclides “Kilo” Campos
Kilo was born in Panama City and holds a degree in Ecological Tourism from the University of Panama. In 2005 he completed a trainingin Birds of Prey Conservation at the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, Pennsylvania (USA).
He has been birding since he was a young boy, and guiding professionally for over 10 years. He’s widely recognized as the country’s foremost expert in the birds of eastern Panama, including the most productive areas of Darién and Nusagandi. He’s a specialist in finding even the most elusive and sought-after species, and currently holds eBird’s top bird list for Panama.
Natalia De Castro
Natalia was born in Medellín, Colombia, where she studied Agriculture and started her passion for birding and wildlife.
She arrived in Bocas del Toro, Panama, in 2003 and for 8 years she coordinated several projects in research and conservation of marine turtles. She also spent 12 years as resident naturalist and guide at Tranquilo Bay, one of the leading lodges in Panama´s Caribbean. Since then she has become an expert in Caribbean nature and bird life, and one of the best-known and highest-ranked guides in Bocas del Toro.
Natalia leads our Caribbean Nature tours in Bocas del Toro archipelago and mainland.
Ramón Fernández
Ramón was born in Valencia, Spain, where he got is degree in Biology. He came to Panama in 2005 as a field biologist in marine turtle conservation, and spent the next 6 years in various projects in the Bocas del Toro archipelago, which he now calls home. He worked as a guide and naturalist in several lodges and hotels, and leads Tamandua’s tours in Bocas del Toro and Chiriquí.