the anton valley historical and cultural museum

This is a very small museum behind the church but has some very nice displays. It only takes a half hour or so to visit but has information on the geological history of the area, petroglyphs and historical and cultural artifacts.Note: Some of the recent reviews here are for the zoo, waterfall, etc. This is the museum, totally different!

There were large birds in small cages. The mesh on the cages was quite small and it made taking pictures difficult. Small pool for the "therapeutic" waters.

The kids enjoyed the hike up to the waterfall. The mineral spa was a little disappointing. Looked like a man-made tub filled with dirty water that was suppose to make for skin glow!!

This is basically a one-room museum located in the garden of the church next door. Cost is only $1 and it doesn't take more than about 30-40 minutes to walk through. There are cards to explain some of the things in English. the first wall shows some of the geological history and formation of the valley, followed on the second wall by some of the early artifacts found in the area. There are then some cultural objects to show the early colonial period, ending with a glass display of two local costumes. A quick stop on a rainy day--worth it if you don't have a lot to do in El Valle in particular.

Lots of stops and things to see. Enjoyed the waterfall and suspension bridges. The zoo was very interesting with lots of bird species etc. Shopping left a little to be desired. Not much more than souvenirs unfortunately.

Termales, rainforest and the zoo were ok, but nothing overly interesting, the shopping part was not worth a stop-over.

Just a simple small town with lots of handicrafts and a hot spring bath location. Nice and quiet with quaint, unsophisticated good restaurants.

I wish one of the three people congregated around the cash box had offered to provide a tour. There is a lot of El Valle artifacts, some hundreds of years old, some contemporary. The $1 admission is fair.It is located immediately to the left of the church.

The garden walkway into the Museum is lovely. Just like my great grandmother's garden would have been. Charming and natural with a kind hand tending it. We were disappointed to find the Museum padlocked. The adjacent church was open, however and allowed a nice respite. The Nativity scene was still up and was so very pleasant to examine. There is at least one small leaded stained glass window. and the wooden pews were very well maintained as we have seen in most churches in Panama. We will try the museum on another day.

David gave us a great guided tour where he explained where each of the pieces in the small museum came from. Very interesting.

We were fortunate enough to find David, the curator, who opened up the museum for us and showed us around. We found it extremely interesting for the tiny size. David (in his 70's) gave us the added bonus of climbing the huge mango tree outside the museum, and tossing us down some juicy ones.

Stopped to visit the museum three or four times and it was always locked. Probably staffed with volunteers, but perhaps the local hotel owners' association could pay to have someone keep it open.

I even had a hard time to find it....David the one who is taking care of was making me the small tour....I also used him as a guide in the Valle...It's pretty small, but worth the stop...The door is situated on the left side of the church...at the end...

They really need to add to this tiny museum - it is still worth a visit - pay as you can donations.

Excursion très intéréssante à Anton. On a appris plein de choses et rencontré des gens très sympas sur le marché primeur et artisanal où on a fait la majorité de nos achats durant la semaine.