Panama has a cosmopolitan capital city, incredible rainforest and some of the finest snorkeling, birding and deep-sea fishing in the world. Panama's tourist season is during the dry season from around mid-December to mid-April. The weather can be hot and steamy in the lowlands during the rainy season, when the humidity makes the heat more oppressive than otherwise. Rain in Panama tends to come in sudden short downpours that freshen the air and are followed by sunshine.<br> If you like to party, try to be in Panama City or on the Península de Azuero for Carnaval, held each year on the weekend before Ash Wednesday. Panama City's Carnaval celebration is one of the world's largest. Carnaval is celebrated over the four days preceding Ash Wednesday and involves music, dancing and a big parade on Shrove Tuesday. The celebrations in Panama City and Las Tablas are the most festive. The Semana Santa (Easter Week) celebrations at Villa de Los Santos, on the Península de Azuero, are equally renowned. The Festival of the Black Christ at Portobelo on October 21 includes a parade of the famous life-size statue of the Black Christ, and attracts pilgrims from all over the country.<br> The Panama Canal is both an engineering marvel and one of the most significant waterways on earth. Stretching 80km (50mi) from Panama City on the Pacific coast to Colón on the Atlantic side, it provides passage for over 12,000 oceangoing vessels per year. Seeing a huge ship nudge its way through the narrow canal, with vast tracts of virgin jungle on both sides, is an unforgettable sight. The easiest and best way to visit the Canal is to go to the Miraflores Locks, on the northeastern fringe of Panama City, where a platform offers visitors a good view of the locks in operation. There's also a museum with a model and a film about the Canal. Boats leave Balboa, a western suburb of Panama City, for a five-hour tour through the locks to Miraflores Lake.<br> The Isthmus of Panama is the umbilical cord joining South and Central America. It borders Costa Rica to the west and Colombia to the east. Panama's arched shape reflects both its role as a bridge between continents and as a passageway between oceans. At its narrowest point, it is only 50km (30mi) wide, but it has a 1160km (720mi) Caribbean coastline on its northern shore and a 1690km (1048mi) Pacific coast to the south. The famous canal is 80km (50mi) long and effectively divides the country into eastern and western regions.<br> There are hundreds of islands near the Panamanian coasts. The two major archipelagos are the San Blas and Bocas del Toro chains in the Caribbean Sea, though the best snorkeling, diving and deep-sea fishing are to be found in the Pacific near Coiba Island and the Pearl Islands. Panama has flat coastal lowlands and two mountain chains running along its spine. The highest peak is Volcán Barú at 3475m (11,400ft).<br> Rainforests dominate the canal zone, the northwestern portion of the country and much of the eastern half. Although Costa Rica is widely known for its fantastic wildlife, Panama has, in fact, a greater number of flora and fauna species, more land set aside for preservation and far fewer people wandering through the jungle looking for wildlife and inadvertently scaring it away. There's much truth in the Panamanian saying that in Costa Rica 20 tourists try to see one resplendent quetzal, but in Panama one person tries to see 20 of these exquisite birds.<br> Panama has two seasons. The dry season lasts from January to mid-April and the rainy season from mid-April to December. Rainfall is heavier on the Caribbean side of the highlands, though most people live on or near the Pacific coast. Temperatures are typically hot in the lowlands (between 21°C and 32°C/70°F and 90°F) and cool in the mountains (between 10-18°C/50-64°F). These vary little throughout the year.<br> There are hundreds of islands off both coasts of Panama, and because the coasts are just an hour's drive apart, you could easily spend the morning snorkeling in the Caribbean Sea and the afternoon swimming in the Pacific Ocean. Some of the best snorkeling and diving to be found in Central America can be found in the protected waters beside Panama's Coiba Island. Divers looking for something different might want to consider diving in the Panama Canal; not only are there wrecks to explore but also all kinds of submerged equipment left by the French when they worked on the railroad many decades ago. Surfers should check out Santa Catalina Beach, on the Azuero Peninsula, which periodically sees waves with 6m (20ft) faces, though they're usually hovering around 3m (10ft).<br> Fishing enthusiasts will be pleased to know that more deep-sea fishing records have been set at Piñas Bay, on the Pacific coast, than anywhere else in the world. You can see sea turtles in large numbers along both Panamanian coasts, although the Kunas' habit of lopping their heads off with machetes and eating them is taking a heavy toll. Cana, deep in the heart of Parque Nactional Darién, is birding nirvana, and what's more, you're likely to find yourself alone as you take in the great green, blue-and-yellow, red-and-green and chestnut-fronted macaws.