Capurganá is a town of the municipality of Acandí on the northwestern coast of the Gulf of Urabá in the Colombian department of Chocó, adjacent to the border between Colombia and Panama.
Previously a base site for eco-tourists, since 2010 the town's main source of income has been migrants preparing to hike into Panama, across the Darién Gap.
Capurganá remained unnoticed on the map until the 1970s when Mrs. Narcisa Navas, a community leader, convinced her neighbours to donate land and help to build a small airstrip.
[citation needed] The Palacio family established the first hotel in 1975, small log cabins and an iraca palm roof (Carludovica palmata).
[citation needed] As of 2021, Capurganá has public electricity and water systems, telephones connected to the Colombian phone network, and a permanent doctor.
[2] Since about 2010 the town's main industry is housing, provisioning, and guiding the many thousands of migrants, primarily Haitians but also from Cameroon, Nepal, Bangladesh, and other countries.
During the summer[3] from January to March the wave action becomes intense, making navigation difficult and not appropriate for tourists unaccustomed to sea life.
[citation needed] Local boats visit "The Playona" beach where Cana (Dermochelys coriacea) and Carey (Eretmochelys imbricata) turtles nest during the months of March and April.
The Colombian government eventually established a permanent military presence in the border area with the help of the United States Plan Colombia.
It was announced that by the end of 2012 a new Catamaran ferry service will run between the Antonio Roldán Airport (Apartadó Town) and Capurganá.
In 2021 the ferries were inadequate to transport the quantities of migrants, whose accumulation led to the collapse of the water system in Necoclí and the mayor proclaiming a state of emergency.