Región del Darién ( Darién Gap )
The Darién Gap (UK: , US: , Spanish: Tapón del Darién [taˈpon del daˈɾjen], lit. 'Darién plug') is a geographic region in the Isthmus of Darien or Isthmus of Panama connecting the North and South American continents within Central America, consisting of a large watershed, forest, and mountains in Panama's Darién Province and the northern portion of Colombia's Chocó Department.
The "gap" is in the Pan-American Highway, of which 106 km (66 mi) between Yaviza, Panama, and Turbo, Colombia, have not been built. Road-building through this area is expensive and detrimental to the environment. Political consensus in favor of road construction collapsed after an initial attempt failed in the early 1970s, with a proposal in the early 1990s halted by serious environmental concerns. As of 2023, there was no active plan to build a road through the gap, although there has been discussion of setting up a ferry service.
The geography of the Darién Gap on the Colombian side is dominated primarily by the river delta of the Atrato River, which creates a flat marshland at least 80 km (50 mi) wide. The Serranía del Baudó range extends along Colombia's Pacific coast and into Panama. The Panamanian side, in stark contrast, is a mountainous rainforest, with terrain reaching from 60 m (197 ft) in the valley floors to 1,845 m (6,053 ft) at the tallest peak (Cerro Tacarcuna, in the Serranía del Darién).
The Darién Gap is home to the Embera-Wounaan and Guna people and was also home to the Cueva people who became extinct by 1535, following the Spanish invasion of Panama. Travel is often conducted with pirogues. On the Panamanian side, La Palma, the area's cultural center, is the capital of the province. Other population centers include Yaviza and El Real. The Darién Gap had a reported population of 8,000 in 1995 among five tribes. Maize, cassava, plantains, and bananas are staple crops on local farms.
It is possible to cross from Colombia to Panama by trail, but it is a very strenuous as well as dangerous route. Law enforcement is non-existent and weather very rainy, causing frequent flash floods. Rapes and robberies are common, and a broken leg can be fatal, as there is no way to reach assistance. However, this route was taken by many thousands of migrants in the 2010s, primarily Haitian, to reach the United States, and in the 2020s thousands of Venezuelan migrants have crossed fleeing the crisis in the country. By 2021 the number was more than 130,000.
