The Colón Duty Free Zone was created as an autonomous state institution on June 17, 1948, by Law No 18. It is 400 hectares wide and is located at the entrance of the Panama Canal on the Caribbean side, in Colón Province. It is considered the second largest Duty Free Zone in the world and the biggest in the Western Hemisphere. It serves as a Global Logistics Center for the world, with over 2,000 established companies, 250,000 annual visitors and annual business transactions that generate $11,000 billion in imports, exports and re-exports.

For its incomparable geographical position and its access to the most important ports on both the Caribbean and the Pacific sides of the isthmus (Manzanillo International Terminal, Colón Ports Terminal, Colón Container Terminal and the Panama Ports Company), it has become an international hub port. This duty free zone also has the following transportation services: France Field Airport, Panama Railroad Station, access to the Panama-Colón highway, Cruise ship Terminal and Ground Transportation Terminal.

Damas Beach is an ideal beach for all ages, for many activities. Crystal clear waters, coral reefs, white sand, calm waters... it is a Caribbean beach, one of the most prominent in Panama, perfect for enjoying a day of sun and sand and some activity.

With sky-blue water and spectacular scenery, Miramar is a town along the upper coast of Colón with an extremely important commercial port for this part of Panama.

It was created in 1976, and contains one of the most important, natural and beautiful ports in the Caribbean, the bay of Portobelo, christened by Christopher Columbus in 1502, on his fourth and last voyage to the New World. The fortifications that continue to stand guard around the cove were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980. Found in the northern part of the isthmus on the Caribbean slope, these 70 kms. of coastal areas with palm trees and rich coral formations offer an extremely attractive and scenic landscape. During the colonial period it hosted the famous galleons fair, with their own military fortifications from the era of the conquest, which gives the area historical and cultural value and is a highlight of the national park.

The city of San Felipe de Portobelo, for which the protected area is named, was founded by Francisco Valverde y Mercado on May 20, 1597. In the mid-17th century it reached its apogee by coming to be the point of conflux for all the riches from Peru and other South American countries that arrived overland from Panama City along the Path of the Crosses.