Barro Colorado Island is an artificial island, created by the damming of the Panama Canal in 1914. At 15 km², Barro Colorado Island is also the largest island in Lake Gatun, which is part of the Panama Canal in the central interior of Panama. The island is completely covered by semi-humid deciduous forest and has been managed by the Smithsonian Institution since 1946 in accordance with bilateral contracts. From 1923, when the island was designated a biological reserve, until 1946 BCI was administered by the National Academy of Sciences. Barro Colorado Island is now recognized as the best researched tropical ecosystem in the world. (Wikipedia)
Here you can visit the Smithonian Institute (advance booking required) and take tours of the island's ecosystem. Here you can also see - if you are lucky - brown-headed spider monkeys (Ateles fusciceps) from the family of spider-tailed apes (Atelidae).
