Overview
The town of Gamboa is still inhabited, but as a shadow of its former self, maintained, but without the vibrancy and civic spirit it once enjoyed. Many of its houses are not inhabited and several public buildings are underutilized. It remains the primary headquarters of the Dredging Division of the Panama Canal Authority.</p>
<p>Gamboa is home to caymans, crocodiles, iguanas, and several hundred bird species. Given its location at the ``end of the road`` and the single road connecting it to the rest of the Canal Zone, Gamboa is adjacent to significant tracts of relatively undisturbed rainforest. A trail that follows an old pipeline (``Pipeline Road``) is considered one of the best birding hikes in Panama. It is one of the premiere bird watching sites in all of Central America.`{`2`}` Many amateur birdwatchers join ornithologists for yearly bird counts held near Gamboa by the Audubon Society of Panama.</p>
<p>The old Spanish colonial era Las Cruces Trail used to carry precious metals and supplies between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans passes near Gamboa, though parts of it are now underwater.
