Las Lomas

About Las Lomas:

Las Lomas became a corregimiento on 5 December 2002, when it was split off from El Harino, and locally it is still placed by one reference point: it is the country beyond El Copé. Its villages are Loma Bonita, La Trinidad (also known as La Loma), La Mina, Calabazo #1, Ojo de Agua and Bajo Grande. La Trinidad sits right by El Copé, while Calabazo and Bajo Grande lie further out, on the road that heads down towards the Río Grande. You come in from the Pan-American Highway on the El Copé road, roughly 28 kilometres of climbing from the turn-off. Past El Copé the roads into the villages are rural tracks, and residents have had to press the public works ministry to repair them. For a bank branch, a hospital or a big supermarket, the run is down to Penonomé, the provincial capital.

The year here is marked out by saints’ days, one for each village. Ojo de Agua honours San Sebastián in January, Bajo Grande the Virgen de Fátima in mid-May, La Trinidad the Santísima Trinidad on its movable date, Loma Bonita San Antonio de Padua on 13 June, La Mina the Medalla Milagrosa at the end of November, and Calabazo #1 the Inmaculada Concepción. Children attend village basic schools, among them the one in La Trinidad that now bears the name of Ana Julia Silvia de Salazar, and another in Bajo Grande. Electricity arrived only after the corregimiento was created. Water is a community affair: the intake at Ojo de Agua, run by a local rural water board, has supplied about 29 families for more than fifty years.

The name is literal. This is steep hill country, cut by streams that feed the Zapillo, the Higueronoso and the Río Grande, and its landmarks are waterfalls: Chorro Grande at Ojo de Agua, Chorro Alto at Bajo Grande, where a hanging bridge crosses the river into Olá, and Cascada Tenilda near Loma Bonita. In the dry season the river pools fill with swimmers, and at the Ojo de Agua bathing spot you can rent a hammock and buy lunch from small stalls. The water that draws visitors also sets the terms for owning land. Rain falls for most of the year in the mountainous part of the district, rivers rise fast and turn murky, slopes around Alto Calabazo have given way in heavy rain, and farming pushing uphill has already eaten into the forest that protects the Ojo de Agua intake.

Land is what reaches the market, usually sold by the hectare and pitched for farming, cattle, eco-tourism or a weekend house in the hills, the same mix found across the El Copé and El Harino side of the district. Visitor traffic is modest but real. Local guides take groups to the rivers, and a few cabins in the El Copé area host overnight guests. Land costs a fraction per square metre of what it does on the Coclé coast. What you trade for that is distance, slow roads in the wet months and services that are a drive away, so two parcels a few kilometres apart can be very different propositions once the rains start.

Fincas in Las Lomas:

Fincas of several hectares on sloping ground make up most of what is offered, and some sellers on the El Copé side divide larger holdings into blocks of two hectares or more. They suit a buyer who wants a small working farm, a forest retreat or space for a few guest cabins. Walk the whole boundary before you talk price, and find out how the finca connects to a road that stays passable in October. Ask where the water comes from, whether the power line already reaches the house site, and whether any part of the land falls inside the protection strip around a community water intake, where clearing is not allowed.

Land and Lots in Las Lomas:

For a country house or a couple of cabins rather than a farm, a smaller plot close to one of the villages makes more sense, ideally on an existing road with electricity and water connections within reach. Anyone comparing land for sale in Las Lomas should price in the slope. A level pad on these hills means earthwork, retaining walls and drainage sized for heavy rain. Build in the dry months and give runoff somewhere to go other than your foundations. Many rural parcels in Coclé are held as possession rights rather than registered title, so establish which one you are buying before you agree a figure.

FAQ:

• Where exactly is Las Lomas, and how do I get there?

  It covers the north-western hills of La Pintada district, past the village of El Copé. Take the El Copé road from the Pan-American Highway. La Trinidad is next to El Copé, while Ojo de Agua, Calabazo #1 and Bajo Grande are further out on rural roads. Allow extra time, and for the outer villages in the rainy season a 4×4 is the sensible choice.

• Las Lomas only became a corregimiento in 2002. Can older papers cause trouble?

  They can confuse things. Until December 2002 this land belonged to El Harino, so older deeds, survey plans and tax receipts may name the old corregimiento. What matters is that the finca number, area and boundaries recorded in the Registro Público match the land you walked, and whether the parcel has title at all or only possession rights. Check too that the listing really is in La Pintada, since Chiriquí has a corregimiento with the same name, and remember that at Bajo Grande the Río Grande is the district line: land across the river belongs to Olá.

• How reliable is the water supply?

  Villages draw on community aqueducts run by local water boards, so ask the board whether a new connection is possible before you buy a plot near one. A finca with its own spring or creek is worth more, but check whether a protection strip around a source limits what you can clear or build. Forest loss near the Ojo de Agua intake was serious enough that the area was replanted in 2024.

• What does the rainy season mean for a property here?

  Rain falls for most of the year, rivers rise quickly and slopes can slip, as they have near Alto Calabazo. Visit at least once in the wet months before you buy, plan construction for the dry season from about January to April, and budget for drainage and for a road that will need upkeep.

• Is there room for a small tourism business?

  There is something to build on. The waterfalls bring weekend visitors, local guides already lead walks, and cabins in the El Copé area take overnight guests. Work out how visitors would reach your land and the river. Some falls are reached across private family land, where owners ask permission and a small contribution, so never assume a public right of way.