Pearl Islands

The Pearl Islands (Spanish: Archipiélago de las Perlas or Islas de las Perlas) is a group of 200 or more islands and islets (many tiny and uninhabited) lying about 30 miles (48 km) off the Pacific coast of Panama in the Gulf of Panama.

Prior to that date as the Earth's plates had begun to join the Pearl Islands were created and they emerged from the sea.

The biggest island is Isla del Rey where more than fifteen pre-Columbian recognised archeological sites of the “Cuevas” and “Cocle” cultures have been identified.

Another Spaniard, Gaspar de Morales, part of a rogue group not under Balboa's authority, murdered 20 local Indian chiefs not long after and gave them to his dogs to tear to pieces.

The Spaniards then needed workers to harvest pearls and imported slave labour in the 16th century from Africa whose descendants now live on the islands, particularly del Rey.

The Chamber for Sustainable Tourism Las Perlas aims to preserve the islands' delicate ecological balance.

The archipelago has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports significant breeding colonies of brown pelicans.