Darién is a province in eastern Panama. It is hot, humid, heavily forested, and sparsely populated.

Europeans first discovered the region in 1501, and Christopher Columbus sighted it on his fourth voyage in 1503. The Spanish established the first European colony in South America, Santa María la Antigua del Darién, in Darién in 1510. The settlement did not prosper, however, and was soon abandoned. From this town Vasco Núñez de Balboa made his march to the Pacific in 1513. Some of the refugees from Santa María went on to found Panama City in 1519.

In 1698 Scottish Protestants launched another attempt to colonize Darién: the Darién scheme. It too ended in failure.

Today the chief town in Darién is La Palma, located where the Tuira River empties into the Bay of San Miguel.

The province was formed in 1922 from Panamá province.

The province is divided in 2 districts.

District (Capital)

1. Chepigana (La Palma)
2. Pinogana (El Real de Santa María)

See also: Darién Gap