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El Valle de Anton is a unique town inside an extinct volcanic crater in Panama. It’s a dream for hikers and there are so many amazing trails along the crater rim. Cerro La Silla is one of them.
It’s one of the shorter and easier hikes in the area, but what it lacks in length, it makes up for in views!
If I had to choose one trail to do in El Valle, it would have to be Cerro La Silla. The rolling, grassy hills are truly epic.
In this hiking guide, I’ll share everything you need to know about hiking Cerro La Silla in El Valle de Anton, including how to get to the trailhead (it’s outside town), trail stats, what to wear, and pack.
Cerro La Silla Panama quick facts
- ↔️ Trail type: out-and-back
- 🗺️ Trail map: WikiLoc
- 📍 Trailhead location: 5.5 km (3.4 mi) from town
- 📏 Distance: 4 km (2.5 mi)
- 📈 Elevation gain: 218 m (715 ft)
- 🥵 Difficulty: easy
- ⏰ Duration: 1.5 – 2 hours
- 💰 Entrance fee: free
About Cerro La Silla
If you’re dreaming about rolling hills and grassy ridgelines with epic views, Cerro La Silla is the hike for you in El Valle de Anton!
I have a thing for grasslands, and after seeing the photos of narrow trails cutting across endless rolling hills, we knew we had to hike Cerro La Silla.
This trail is not as popular as La India Dormida and it’s a little further out of town than Cerro Cara Iguana. A bit more effort is required to get there, but once you’re at the trailhead, it’s the easiest hike in the area.
It’s a really popular hike for sunrise or sunset, but honestly, it would be beautiful at any time of the day!
Cerro La Silla is a grassy peak near the area’s communication towers. The trail technically starts just after the towers, however, to get to this point, you’ll need to tackle a very bumpy, unpaved road, so unless you’ve got a 4×4 vehicle, your hike will most likely start just off the main road.
There are two peaks, the closest is La Cruz with a cross on top, and the further is La Virgen, with a Virgin Mary statue.
You can walk as much or as little as you like. The views are incredible from both peaks and even just from the ridgeline between them.
The trail is narrow in parts and would be very slippery when wet, but otherwise, it’s not too difficult. The hardest parts are the short but steep inclines to reach either peak, but getting between them is pretty flat. Be prepared for strong winds though, which can be a little dicey from the top of the peaks!
The Cerro La Silla hike can start from a number of different places, depending on the transport you have available to you:
- 🏘️ From town: you can start walking from town if you want to. You’d have to walk along the main road which is very busy during the day and super steep in parts. To get from the centre of El Valle to the dirt road turnoff is approx. 4 km (2.5 mi).
- 🚏 From the turnoff: if you took the bus, rode a bike/e-bike, drove a small car without 4×4 or took a taxi, your hike will most likely start from the turnoff from the main road. You can find this location ‘Parada de Buses El Roble’. The road turns unpaved here and is in poor condition. You might be able to drive a little further up the road, but you’ll have to stop and park at some point, as it gets quite steep and bumpy. From the bus stop on the main road to the start of the trail where the road ends is approx. 1.3 km (0.8 mi).
- 🥾 From the trailhead: the actual trail starts near the communication towers where the road ends. If you’ve got a 4×4 or ATV or a tough vehicle, you can drive all the way up here, park near the towers and have the shortest walk.
How to get to the trailhead
The trailhead is at least 4 km (2.5 mi) from town, depending on how far you can get along the dirt road. You can walk if you want to, but it’s not particularly scenic, so it’s best to organise some kind of transport:
- 🚲 Bike or e-bike: we thought it would be a good idea to ride our rental bikes to the trailhead. 4 km, that’s not that far we thought. WRONG! The main road, Route 71, gets soooo steep in parts, that we had to push the bikes at least halfway. It’s very busy with cars, trucks and buses passing with no sidewalk or shoulder, so safe to say this wasn’t a very good idea! Although coming back down the hill after the hike was very speedy and fun. You can now rent e-bikes in El Valle, and I think this would be a much better option!
- 🚐 Colectivo: if you’re hiking during the day while the buses are running, you can jump on any bus heading east of town, just check if they are going to ‘El Roble’ or ‘La Silla’, and the driver will let you know if you’re on the right bus. There is a bus shelter, pinned on the map as Parada de Buses El Roble, this is where you’ll get off and wait on the return leg.
- 🚙 Car: if you’ve got a rental car, you can drive at least some of the way to Cerro La Silla. Once you turn off the main road, drive as far as you feel comfortable and park on the side of the road. Don’t push your vehicle, the road does NOT get better, so park where you’re comfortable you won’t damage anything and walk the rest of the way.
- 🚕 Taxi: a taxi can drive you to the trailhead from town. They won’t take you all the way to the top, but they’ll go as far as their car allows. If you want to use a taxi to get back, I’d recommend paying the driver to wait or be prepared to stand on the side of the highway for a while before one passes.
Cost and opening hours
There is no fee to hike to Cerro La Silla and the trail is accessible 24/7. You can hike it for sunrise or sunset.
Do you need a guide to hike Cerro La Silla?
No, a guide is not mandatory for Cerro La Silla and is not needed.
It’s impossible to get lost here as you can see the entire trail and both peaks.
What to expect hiking Cerro La Silla
Our hike to Cerro La Silla didn’t start exactly as planned. As I mentioned, we had rented bikes for the day and thought it would be an easy way to get to the trailhead on the outskirts of town. We were doing the hike at sunset, so we set off in the late afternoon.
We didn’t factor in elevation, and the road was so steep in parts we couldn’t pedal (it didn’t help we had old rickety rental bikes!). We pushed the bikes at least halfway to the trailhead, along the very busy road with trucks and buses passing us on the non-existent shoulder. I was cursing our decision to cycle and wishing we had just walked – I can haul myself up a hill easier than myself plus a bike!
Anyway, we finally made it to the turnoff, ditched the bikes pretty quickly on the bumpy road and walked up the hill to the official trailhead.
We first saw the towers, and then the road ended and turned into a narrow trail winding around the most beautiful grassy hill I think I’ve ever seen!
The views were stunning right from the start before we’d even climbed either of the peaks. Looking at Cerro La Silla itself and the grassy ridgeline was impressive enough, not to mention there are almost 360° views of the surrounding mountains and hills too.
We spent a couple of hours traipsing across the trails, up the summits and across the ridgeline. We weren’t looking at a map and we didn’t really have a route or destination in mind. We could see both peaks and took our time strolling around between the two and soaking up the views.
It was a cloudy evening, so we didn’t get a banging sunset. But the golden light beaming through the clouds and casting a soft glow over everything was good enough. We felt like we were standing on top of the world and I couldn’t stop smiling.
It was so, so beautiful up there. Everything I’d imagined El Valle de Anton to be.
As the sun dipped behind a mountain and darkness started to descend on the valley we made our way back to our bikes. I was a little nervous about the downhill journey. It was sure to be quicker and easier, but I didn’t know how well the brakes worked on our rickety rental bikes and riding in the dark on the main road without helmets probably wasn’t a great idea…
But c’est la vie, this is Central America and after 5 and a half months of travelling in this region, you get used to things like this.
It turned out to be an epic and speedy ride down the hill and I think we completed the trip in about a quarter of the time it took us to slog uphill. We made it back into town just as the final light of the day vanished, ready for a nice dinner and a movie on the projector in our little cabin at The Magma Chamber.
What to wear and bring to Cerro La Silla
El Valle de Anton has a climate that can change quickly, so my best advice is to wear layers.
The Cerro La Silla trail is completely exposed, so if you’re hiking in the middle of the day, it will be sunny and hot. Do note that it can be very windy at the top, so bring a warmer layer, especially if you’re doing a sunrise or sunset hike.
Hiking shoes aren’t necessary, but sturdy runners would be ideal. The trail is narrow in parts and I imagine would be extremely slippery when wet.
In terms of what to pack:
- 💦 Water
- 🍌 Snacks or picnic lunch
- 🌞 Sun protection (sunglasses, hat, sunscreen)
- ☔️ Rain protection (for yourself and your bag/electronics)
- 📷 Camera or charged phone
Planning a trip to El Valle de Anton
If you’re planning a trip to El Valle de Anton, the unique town inside a crater, don’t forget to check out our El Valle de Anton travel guide. It covers all the important info you need to know, like getting there, getting around, where to stay and other handy tips to get your bearings.
Final thoughts: Cerro La Silla Panama
I still smile thinking about how stunningly epic the Cerro La Silla hike was. Those rolling hills, that grassy ridgeline, the 360° views, insane.
If you skip the hectic uphill bike ride, this hike requires very little effort and the reward is spectacular. Even though it’s a little way out of town, you can’t skip this hike in El Valle de Anton!
I hope this guide has helped you plan your Cerro La Silla hike. Don’t forget to check out our El Valle de Anton posts for more handy info and hiking guides.
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