The Camino Real de Cruces^{[1]u200b[2]u200b[3]u200b[< /span>4]u200b(also known as Camino de Cruces [5]u200b[6]u200b[7]u200b) was one of the historical routes of the Isthmus of Panama that connected the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean during colonial times. Built around 1530,[8]u200b became along with the Camino Real de Portobelo and the most recent Camino de Gorgona,[9]u200b on the only roads to cross the isthmus from ocean to ocean, prior to the construction of the transisthmian railway.[10]u200b}

The Camino Real de Cruces route was multimodal, ^[11] u200bDeparting from Panama City, they went by land, on foot or on mules, to the town of Venta de Cruces, on the banks of the Chagres River. The journey was six leagues (approximately six hours on foot). ^[12]u200bFrom the town of Cruces, passengers and merchandise followed after his journey by boat, following the course of the Chagres River, to its mouth at Fort San Lorenzo, in Chagres,^[8]u200b and then by sea to Portobelo. It became an alternative backup route to the traffic that the Camino Real de Portobelo had.^{[8]< /span>u200b}

The road was made of stones, with a width of eight feet (twice the width of the Camino Real de Portobelo, which had almost no cobblestones) and with larger master stones on the edges.^[8]u200b

After the looting and destruction of Old Panama, in 1671, at the hands of English pirates, and the subsequent reconstruction of the city in San Felipe (current Old Town), the axis of the royal roads also changed , towards the new location, ^[13]u200b and in the case of Camino Real de Cruces, the old route was maintained to the old town of Limarrete (located between the current Madden Avenue and the Caimitillo River) and from there a new itinerary was traced and built in the direction of San Felipe.^[14]u200b^[15]u200b^{[16]< /span>}u200b^{[citation required]}

This new segment of the Camino Real de Cruces is the best known, for being the one that It was used until the 19th century In a semi-hidden cave in the jungle, there are also a good part of the remains of the original road, which led from Limarrete to Old Panama.^{[citation needed]}

With constant pirate attacks and the subsequent destruction of Portobelo in 1739, the use of transisthmian roads in Panama entered a phase of decline, and with the construction of the Panama Railroad in 1855, the Camino Real de Cruces it was semi-abandoned.^[17]u200b

With the passage of time, both the vegetation of the jungle, as well as urban development and real estate speculation (in the areas near Panama City) have made part of the primitive paving of the Camino disappear, so that at present it is only It is possible to see segments of said cobblestone in interior areas of the Camino de Cruces National Park and the Soberanía National Park, as well as in the Clayton neighborhood and its surroundings, all of them with more or less recent rehabilitation.^[8]u200b ^[10]u200b

Today, the section of the land route, between Venta de Cruces and the Old Town of Panama (approximately 36 kilometers), is one of the most relevant hiking trails in Panama, which allows you to travel through a predominantly jungle environment, and a short distance from the capital, the same itinerary that thousands of walkers followed for centuries. This route is well identified and partially signposted with orange markers; and can be explored on foot, in two or three stages:^{[citation needed]}

- Stage 1 - From Venta de Cruces to the intersection with Madden Avenue (10.82 km.)

- Stage 2 - From the intersection with Avenida Madden to the intersection with Vía Centenario (10.67 km.)^[18]u200b

- Stage 3 - From the intersection with the Vía Centenario to Puerta de Tierra (current House of the Municipality), in the Casco Viejo of Panama City (14 km.). (This section is mainly urban, with some forced detours through gated communities, and currently crosses a sector under construction, due to the construction of the City of Health).