Guayabal

About Guayabal:

Guayabal covers just under 58 square kilometres north of Boquerón town, the district seat on the Interamericana, and borders Paraíso and Cordillera, the corregimientos further up toward the highlands. Its villages are Guayabal itself, Bocalatún, Santa Rita, Macano Arriba, Barrio Lindo and Las Monjas, linked by rural roads such as the one between Macano Arriba and Santa Rita. Santa Rita, with its school and ball field, is one of the larger ones. Las Monjas, at the top, is a handful of houses among farms. For banks, hospitals, big shopping trips or the airport, people drive down to Boquerón and then east along the highway to David, the provincial capital.

Farming is the economy. Boquerón is one of Panama’s main guandú districts, and Guayabal is among its leading growing areas for the pigeon pea that ends up in arroz con guandú every Christmas. Demonstration plots have been set up in Bocalatún and Guayabal to try out new ways of growing it. Cattle, for milk and for beef, take up most of the remaining land, and dairy is one of the district’s main industries. Guayabal has hosted the IMA farmers’ fair for Chiriquí province, and the Macho de Monte and Piedra rivers drive a small hydroelectric plant in the area.

Slope is what shapes property here. Between Bocalatún and Las Monjas the ground rises more than 600 metres, cut by rivers and creeks running down off the Barú massif. The lower villages have flatter parcels with road frontage, ground that suits pasture and row crops. Higher up the land breaks into ridges and stream valleys, with views across the lowlands and up to the volcano, and fresher air that draws people looking for a country house rather than a farm. A hillside lot needs a terrace cut for the house and a driveway that holds through the rainy season, and that cost belongs in the price you offer.

About 2,400 people live in Guayabal, a few hundred more than in 2010. It is still a place of farms and small villages spread along the roads. Buyers tend to be one of three kinds: Chiriquí farmers adding pasture, families from David and Boquerón who want land of their own outside town, and buyers from abroad looking for acreage with a view of Barú. All three are buying land first, so the questions that matter are about the road, the water and the boundaries, not the finishes.

Land and Lots in Guayabal:

Lots start at a few thousand square metres on stone-and-tosca roads, with rural aqueduct water and power at the boundary and sometimes a creek that runs all year. Above that come parcels of one to several hectares, many with river frontage and an open view of the volcano. Per square metre the larger parcels cost far less than a small lot near the road, because on the small lot you are mostly paying for the access, the power line and the water connection. When you compare land for sale in Guayabal, walk the exact spot where the house would go and drive the access road after heavy rain.

Farms and Fincas in Guayabal:

Working farms of five to thirty hectares come up along the Santa Rita road and the main road through Guayabal. Some are flat pasture beside the road; others are rolling ground with a river along one side. They are bought for cattle, for dairy, for guandú, or for a mix of farm and family home. Before you make an offer on one of the fincas for sale in Guayabal, ask exactly what is included, from fencing and corrals to animals and the crop in the ground, and whether the water you plan to use for livestock or irrigation has a MiAmbiente concession.

FAQ:

• Where is Guayabal, and how do you get there?

  It lies north of Boquerón town, the district seat on the Interamericana in western Chiriquí. From the highway, rural roads run north through Guayabal toward Paraíso and Cordillera. David, with the province’s hospitals, banks and airport, is east along the same highway.

• Which part of Guayabal suits a farm, and which suits a house with a view?

  The lower end around Bocalatún and the village of Guayabal has the gentler ground and the road frontage that pasture and crops need. Toward Las Monjas the land is higher and steeper, with the volcano views and cooler air, but building costs more and the access road deserves a careful look.

• Is there reliable water and electricity?

  Many parcels have rural aqueduct water and a power line on the road, but water supply has been a long-running problem across Boquerón district. Ask how many households share the same aqueduct and whether a well is possible, and get a concession before you draw water from a creek or river.

• What should I check before buying a hillside or riverside parcel here?

  Start with the river. Panamanian law keeps a protected buffer along river banks, closed to clearing and building, and on a sloping lot that buffer can take the only flat ground you have. Have a lawyer pull the finca number at the Registro Público to confirm it is titled land rather than derechos posesorios, which still turn up on rural land in Chiriquí, and get a surveyor to put the plan on the ground before you sign.

• Can foreigners own land in Guayabal?

  Yes. Panama’s constitution gives foreigners the same property rights as citizens, and the restriction on foreign ownership near the border does not reach Guayabal. A notary prepares the deed and the Registro Público records it.