Geography

The park is located in the southwestern part of the Azuero Peninsula. Cerro Hoya, which is 1,559 meters (5,115 feet) high, is the highest mountain in the park and the reason the park is named. The park also includes Punta Mariato, which is the southernmost point of mainland North America.

Environment

The park protects parts of two different ecoregions. The Isthmian-Pacific moist forests are found in the lowlands and foothills of the peninsula. The Talamancan montane forests are located at higher elevations above about 950 meters, including Cerro Hoya. These montane forests cover 77 kilometers of the park. These forests are separated by more than 150 kilometers from the main montane forest area further north in the Central Cordillera of Panama and Costa Rica.

About 225 bird species have been recorded in the park. These include crested eagle, Azuero dove, great green macaw, golden-winged warbler, three-wattled bellbird, great curassow, and scarlet macaw. The park and its surrounding areas are the only home of the Azuero parakeet, which lives in a total area of only 700 square kilometers. The park has been named an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International.

Native mammals likely include jaguar, puma, jaguarundi, ocelot, Neotropical river otter, Panamanian night monkey, Azuero howler, Central American spider monkey, Panamanian spiny pocket mouse, and Darien harvest mouse. The frog Craugastor azueroensis has been recorded in the park.