San Félix

About San Félix:

San Félix lies in the low foothills of the Cordillera Central, on the river that shares its name, a short way north of the cruce de San Félix on the Interamericana. Turn south at that junction and the road runs through Las Lajas, the district seat, and on to the beach; turn north and you come into San Félix town, then onto the road that climbs into the Ngäbe-Buglé comarca. David is an hour’s drive west, on a stretch of the Interamericana between Viguí and San Félix that has been rebuilt and widened. Buses and taxis run to the David terminal, and buses for Cerro Colorado leave from here too.

This is one of the oldest towns in Chiriquí. The royal judge Cristóbal Cacho de Santillana founded it in 1607 as San Félix del Guaimí, and by 1623 it was shipping rice and maize to Panama City in small boats down the river. It was the seat of the district until Law 16 of 1918 moved the seat to Las Lajas and made the old town a corregimiento of the same name. Copper exploration at Cerro Colorado in the 1970s brought money into the district, and the Banco Nacional and the power company opened branches in town in the last two decades of the century.

Today the town runs on its hospital and its road. The Hospital General del Oriente Chiricano Dr. Francisco Pérez stands on the main street and takes patients from across the comarca, and the Ministry of Health manages its regional office for the Ngäbe-Buglé from San Félix. People come down from the mountain to see a doctor, shop and bank, which keeps supermarkets, cooperatives and small restaurants going in a corregimiento of just over 3,300 people. The church of San Félix de Nola was rebuilt and consecrated in 2008, while the primary school still works from the building put up in 1932.

Around the town the ground rolls gently, crossed by the río San Félix and the streams that feed it, and the land has always been worked for rice, maize, beans and cattle. Many smaller streams stop running in the dry season, so a finca with water all year is advertised as exactly that, and it matters. North of the town the road crosses into the comarca, created by Law 10 of 1997, where land is the collective property of the comarca and does not come onto the open market. Buyers on the San Félix side are mostly cattle farmers and local families, with a few outsiders who want a base between the mountains and the coast.

Fincas and Land in San Félix:

Farmland is most of what changes hands here. Fincas are sold by the hectare, from a few fenced hectares of pasture to large cattle holdings, and many are already planted with improved grass for fattening stock. The best have river or stream frontage that runs all year, and a few reach right to the edge of town, with the main street on one side and the río San Félix on the other. If you are looking at fincas for sale in San Félix, go and see the water in March or April rather than in the wet months. Smaller house lots also come up along the roads around the town and down toward the Interamericana.

Houses in San Félix:

Houses come up in the streets around the hospital and the church, and along the road down to the Interamericana, a few of them on the highway frontage itself. Most stand on their own lot with a yard, which leaves room to add a shop, a workshop or a second unit to rent. A house near the main street puts the hospital, the bank and the buses within walking distance. Before you buy in town, check the connection to the town aqueduct and watch how the street drains in a heavy downpour.

Rentals in San Félix:

Renting here is long-term and local. The hospital, the health ministry’s regional office and the schools bring in staff who need a room or a small house near work, and central rooms are let by the month with water and power included. Whole houses for long stays come up less often, so start looking well before you move. For anyone working in San Félix, living in town saves two hours a day on the road to David and back.

Commercial Property in San Félix:

With the hospital and the comarca traffic both coming through the main street, the town supports more trade than its population alone would. Shop premises come up along the main street and toward the Interamericana junction, and larger commercial buildings of over a thousand square metres appear now and then. Before you plan a change of use, ask what the current permits allow and how deliveries reach the building.

FAQ:

• Is San Félix the same place as Las Lajas?

  No. San Félix town lies north of the Interamericana at the cruce de San Félix, while Las Lajas, the district seat, lies south of it on the way to the beach. Many listings use “San Félix” for the whole district, beach houses included, so check which corregimiento the property is actually in.

• Can I buy land up the Cerro Colorado road?

  Only as far as the corregimiento goes. Beyond it the road enters the Ngäbe-Buglé comarca, where land is collective property under Law 10 of 1997 and cannot be bought or sold privately. Land in the comarca is sometimes advertised under the San Félix name, so make sure the parcel is a titled finca inside San Félix corregimiento before you go further.

• What should I check before buying a finca here?

  Start with the water: walk the stream or river in the dry season and see whether it still runs. Then confirm the land is titled in the property registry rather than held on possession rights, that the survey plan matches what is fenced on the ground, and that the boundary sits on the San Félix side of the comarca line. Finally, drive the access road in the rainy season, because a track that is easy in March can be a different matter in October.

• How far is the beach?

  Playa Las Lajas is a short drive south: cross the Interamericana, go through Las Lajas town and carry on to the coast. The Galique hot springs, in neighbouring Juay, are also close, a few kilometres off the Interamericana.

• Can you live in San Félix year-round without going to David?

  For most everyday needs, yes. The town has a general hospital, a Banco Nacional branch, cooperatives, supermarkets, buses and taxis. For specialist care, bigger shopping or the airport, David is an hour west.