# Questions About Hiking The Darien Gap

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-hiking-the-darien-gap/653732>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [March 23, 2013, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-hiking-the-darien-gap/653732 "2013-03-23T12:27:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\
**Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-hiking-the-darien-gap/653732/1 "2013-03-23T12:27:55Z")

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The Darien Gap is about 50 miles if jungle clad mountainous terrain, that separates Central America (Panama) from South America (Columbia). It is difficult terrain, and is quite dangerous to be in-there are drug smgglers, FARC guerillas, and army patrols. Hence, it is extremely dangerous to go off hiking there.  
I came across this clip on YouTube:[- YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEWu4Kc5COo)  
It relates the story of three Americans who decided (on a whim to do this). Their ordeal was terrifying-they all thought they would be killed. My question-the distance isn’t all that great-can you simply walk the coastline? It probably wold be a lot safer than walking inland trails. Or are there rivers that cannot be forded at the coast?

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**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-hiking-the-darien-gap/653732/2 "2013-03-25T04:19:20Z")

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Why is it necessarily easier to “simply walk the coastline”? The coastline along the Darien Gap doesn’t look like it would be a particularly easy walk.

Plus your options of escape are limited if you have your back to the sea. Not that it made any difference to the people in the video.

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**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-hiking-the-darien-gap/653732/3 "2013-03-25T05:07:16Z")

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The west side looks like it’s all estuaries and marshes - no fun at all.