Las Palmitas

About Las Palmitas:

Las Palmitas covers a little over 11 square kilometres directly west of the centre of Las Tablas, and the city runs into it without a clear break. The village seat lies about two kilometres from the main square, so the hospital, banks, schools and provincial offices of Las Tablas are part of everyday life rather than a trip. A road leads west out of the village to Perales, across the line in the Guararé district; public works crews patched that Las Palmitas–Perales route in 2024 and have laid fresh asphalt on streets inside the corregimiento. Las Palmitas became a corregimiento on 3 October 1959, and the village still marks the date.

The new rooftops have a simple explanation. Las Palmitas had 1,046 residents in 1990, 1,404 in 2000, 2,057 in 2010 and 2,743 in 2023, while the core of Las Tablas lost people over the last of those stretches. At roughly 245 people per square kilometre, it now feels like the outer edge of a town, not open countryside. The corregimiento also takes in the smaller settlement of Las Palmitas Chiquita, and planned residential streets have been added in recent years.

Ask anyone in Los Santos about Las Palmitas and the cutarra comes up. It is the open leather sandal of the campesino, worn with the montuno at parades and folk events, and families here have made it by hand for well over four decades; Arcelio Hernández is one of its recognised artisans. The Festival de la Cutarra began in October 2017, timed to the corregimiento’s 58th anniversary, with a queen’s coronation and a folk parade of decorated ox carts entered mostly by local families. It has since become a fixture, and the sixth edition went out in late October 2025.

The ground is low and level, around 50 metres above sea level, which makes it simple to build on and to divide into house lots. That shows in the mix of stock: older village houses on lots of every size, residential streets with small uniform plots, and larger parcels along the roads that are still open ground. The appeal for a buyer is straightforward, a house with a yard a few minutes from the centre of Las Tablas. Carnival adds a second kind of demand, because visitors need somewhere to stay for the week and some owners here let their homes.

Houses in Las Palmitas:

Housing here is family homes: older village houses built over several decades, and three-bedroom, two-bathroom houses in planned streets such as Urbanización Los Bosques, which come up for resale. Outside the planned streets, lot sizes vary widely, so compare the land as carefully as the house. For anyone who works in Las Tablas, the commute from houses for sale in Las Palmitas is measured in minutes.

Rentals in Las Palmitas:

Las Tablas stages one of Panama’s best-known carnivals, and Las Palmitas is close enough to the centre to work as a base for it. Owners let whole houses for carnival week, such as three-bedroom homes with a garage a couple of minutes’ drive from Parque Porras. Book early, agree dates, price and what is included in writing, and ask about parking and water during the busiest days.

Land and Lots in Las Palmitas:

Bigger parcels do come up, especially along the Vía Las Palmitas, where lots of several thousand square metres have road frontage. Because the ground is flat, the work lies in the paperwork rather than the earthworks: confirm the registered area, whether the lot has already been segregated from a larger finca, and where the water and power lines stop. Before planning to subdivide land in Las Palmitas, ask the municipality what use it allows on that parcel.

New Developments in Las Palmitas:

One planned development here is Residencial Los Bosques: new-build houses on 160 m² lots, with two children’s playgrounds, an outdoor gym, a basketball court and green areas inside the project. The format suits a first home, or a buyer who wants a new house without building one. Ask the developer for the occupancy permit, confirm that each house carries its own title in the Registro Público, and find out who maintains the parks and court once the project is handed over.

FAQ:

• How far is Las Palmitas from the centre of Las Tablas?

  Very close. The village seat is about two kilometres west of Parque Porras, a few minutes by car, so the shops, schools and hospital of Las Tablas are within everyday reach.

• Is the lot privately titled, or does it sit on municipal land?

  Ask this before anything else. The municipal council has passed agreements dealing with people occupying land in Las Palmitas, so not every village lot is a private registered finca. Confirm the lot has its own finca number in the Registro Público in the seller’s name and check its area against the survey plan; if it is still municipal land, find out from the municipality what it takes to transfer it to you.

• Can I rent a house here for the Las Tablas carnival?

  Yes. Owners let whole houses for carnival week. Book well ahead, put the dates and price in writing, and confirm where you can park, since the roads into the centre are packed during the celebrations.

• What should I check when buying in Residencial Los Bosques or another new project?

  Ask for the construction and occupancy permits, confirm the individual title for your house, and get the lot size and finishes in writing. Ask too who will look after the playgrounds, court and green areas after handover, and whether residents will be expected to contribute.

• When is the Festival de la Cutarra held?

  In October. The 2023 edition ran from 26 to 29 October and the 2025 edition also fell late in the month, with the queen’s coronation and the ox-cart parade as its main days. Dates shift from year to year, so check the local programme before you plan a visit.