Púcuro

About Púcuro:

The corregimiento covers about 78 square kilometres at the eastern edge of Pinogana, close to the border with Colombia. The Pan-American Highway stops at Yaviza, and from there the way in is the river: up the Tuira to Boca de Cupe, then on by motorised piragua to the village. In the dry season the water drops and the trip turns slower and less certain, so the river sets the timetable, not the clock. The border police keep a steady presence in the area, and anyone entering the park needs prior permission from the Ministry of Environment and an authorised guide.

Púcuro counted 356 residents at the 2010 census, and its population has stayed in the low hundreds for decades. The Guna of Paya and Púcuro are a distinct branch of the Guna people, with relatives across the border in the Colombian communities of Arquía and Caimán Nuevo. Families plant rice, maize, cassava and plantain on plots near the river, fish, and take timber and palm from the forest to build their houses. Rice is what the village sells, and the community has organised to ship its harvest down the Tuira to market. Guna women here also sew molas, the layered cloth panels the Guna are known for.

Darién National Park, created in 1980 and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, takes in the headwaters of the Tuira and its tributaries, the Púcuro among them. Around the village the forest dominates, and the rivers are the only routes through it. Park rangers patrol from bases on the Tuira, and Púcuro is one of the points on their rounds. The Guna call the territory they share with Paya Dagarkunyala, after the sacred mountain on the border range.

Property in Púcuro:

There is no property market in Púcuro, and the law keeps it that way. The village sits inside Darién National Park, part of the national protected-area system, and the national land authority does not process private titles within park boundaries. The land around the houses is held and worked by the Guna community under its own authorities and customs, and it is not sold or rented to outsiders. For a finca, a house or a lot in this corner of Darién, the ordinary market is on the Pan-American Highway, in Metetí and Yaviza, both in the same district.

FAQ:

• Can I buy land or a house in Púcuro?

  No. The village is inside a national park where private titles are not issued, and the land is the Guna community’s. Any offer to sell a plot here would not give you a title you could register.

• Could I rent a room or stay for a season?

  There are no rentals of any kind. A visit has to be arranged in advance, with a park permit from the Ministry of Environment and an authorised guide.

• What can a visitor do here?

  See the park with permission and a guide. The upper Tuira is lowland rainforest reached only by river, and Darién is one of the region’s great places for birdwatching.

• Where should I look for property instead?

  Downriver and back on the highway, in Metetí or Yaviza. Out there, the first thing to confirm on any finca is that its boundaries stop short of the park and of collective Guna or Emberá land, and that the title is entered in the property registry.