Christopher Columbus discovered the Bay of Portobelo on 2 November 1502 on his fourth trip to America. Later, in 1586 the Spanish Crown send Field Master Juan de Tejada and the military engineer Juan Bautista Antonelli to select a place in order to prepare a defense plan for the Continent. They chose Portobelo as the Caribbean Center because of its topography and harbor conditions unlike any others along the shores of Central America. At first, Nombre de Dios was founded in 1509, which was later moved to Portobelo.

On March 20, 1597 the city of San Felipe de Portobelo is officially founded by Francisco de Valverde y Mercado. Portobelo became one of the most important points in the transfer of gold and silver because of its system of fairs and galleons. First, Nombre de Dios, and then Portobelo, was established as a convergence center of two trade routes, one from Lima (Peru) on which huge quantities of gold and silver were carried and the other from Seville (Spain) which was the trading capital of the empire.

In their best years, the fairs would last up to 40 days but in more difficult times they would last just about ten or twelve days. Available figures allow us to estimate that about 45 fleets of galleons sailed between 1574 and 1702 and each of them carried at least 30 million pesos. That’s why the city was fortified with three defense levels to prevent any pirate attack, becoming what it is now: a Historical Monumental Complex with civilian and religious samples of colonial era architecture.

Where is it?

Portobelo is located on the Caribbean coast of the province of Colon about halfway between the Panama Canal and the San Blas archipelago.

How to get there?

Visitors could drive from Panama City to Portobelo, taking the Transisthmian highway to Sabanitas and then turn right on the road that leads to Portobelo. It takes around one and a half-hour. There is another way to get there, by taking a plane from Panama City in Marcos A. Gelabert Airport in Albrook to France Field airport in Colon, which takes about 20 minutes and then taking a car to Portobelo (40 minutes).

Portobelo was declared a Historic Monumental Complex by Law 91 of 22 December 1976.