jungle expedition - PANAMA
JUNGLE MEDICINE, SURVIVAL & BUSHCRAFT
Avifauna Campus & Jungle Region, Panama
27 Feb – 6 Mar 2027
£2,395*
*Cost might decrease depending on participant numbers
Welcome to an immersive expedition into jungle medicine, survival, and remote
healthcare delivered in partnership with Jungle Guides International. This unique course, led by an experienced international faculty, combines practical expedition medicine with bushcraft, environmental awareness, river travel, and scenario-based learning in one of the world’s most biodiverse regions.
This course is designed for healthcare professionals, expedition practitioners, outdoor leaders, wilderness responders, and individuals with an interest in remote medicine, survival, and austere environments.
Participants should have a reasonable level of fitness and some prior first aid or clinical experience, as much of the course is physically active and delivered in remote jungle terrain.
How We Deliver | Course Content | Itinerary | Course Leaders | Logistics
Avifauna, Panama
Feb 27th - Mar 6th 2027
A true jungle expedition in the heart of Panama
Welcome to an immersive expedition into jungle medicine, survival, and remote healthcare. This unique course, led by an experienced international faculty, combines practical expedition medicine with bushcraft, environmental awareness,
river travel, and scenario-based learning in one of the world’s most biodiverse regions.
This course is designed for healthcare professionals, expedition practitioners, outdoor leaders, wilderness responders, and individuals with an interest in remote medicine, survival, and austere environments.
Full course details here
Interested, but not ready to book? Drop us an email to express your interest or ask for more details
JUNGLE MEDICINE, SURVIVAL & BUSHCRAFT - HOW WE DELIVER
Welcome to an immersive expedition into jungle medicine, survival, and remote healthcare. This unique course, led by an experienced international faculty, combines practical expedition medicine with bushcraft, environmental awareness,
river travel, and scenario-based learning in one of the world’s most biodiverse regions.
Designed for participants with an interest in remote and austere environments, the course focuses on practical decision-making, adaptability, teamwork, and clinical reasoning in the field. Teaching is highly interactive and integrated into the expedition itself, with learning taking place during jungle movement, river crossings, camp setup, medical scenarios, and evening discussions around camp.
Based within the rainforests of Panama, participants will experience remote jungle environments, indigenous cultural engagement, wilderness camping, packrafting, and immersive field teaching far beyond the traditional classroom setting. The course places strong emphasis on experiential learning, improvisation, and operating effectively in challenging environments with limited resources.
Jungle Medicine & Remote
Healthcare
Develop practical approaches to medical care in remote and resource-limited environments. Teaching focuses on expedition medicine, tropical disease, environmental illness, prolonged casualty care, and clinical decision-making in the field where resources, evacuation, and communication may be limited.
Survival Skills & Bushcraft
Learn and apply core bushcraft and survival skills within the jungle environment, including shelter systems, campcraft, water purification, navigation, hygiene, and environmental risk management.
Teaching is highly practical and integrated into the expedition itself.
Scenario-Based Training
Participants will take part in immersive medical and evacuation scenarios designed to develop teamwork, leadership, improvisation, and casualty management in challenging jungle terrain. Scenarios are integrated throughout the course and adapted to the surrounding environment.
River Travel & Packrafting
The course includes river movement and packrafting elements through the Chagres region, providing practical experience in water-based travel, movement of equipment, and operating safely within dynamic jungle environments.
Jungle Hazards & Environmental medicine
Explore the environmental and medical hazards associated with tropical rainforest environments, including heat illness, dehydration, envenomation, insects, water exposure, and infectious disease risk.
Teaching emphasises prevention, recognition, and field management.
Indigenous Knowledge &
Cultural Immersion
Participants will spend time engaging with local communities and learning about traditional approaches to jungle living, environmental awareness, foraging, and the relationship between health and the natural environment within remote regions of Panama.
SAMPLE itinerary
Please note: Course timings and activities may vary depending on weather, river conditions, and operational considerations on the ground. Much of the course is delivered in remote jungle environments and involves trekking, river travel, camping, and prolonged time outdoors. Participants should be prepared to work in hot, humid, muddy, uneven, and potentially wet conditions throughout the expedition.
This course is designed to be immersive, practical, and expedition-focused, combining remote medicine, survival skills, bushcraft, and environmental learning within one of the most biodiverse regions in Central America.
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Arrival in Panama and transfer to the Avifauna campus. Participants will settle in, meet faculty and local staff, and receive an introduction to the course structure, expedition safety, environmental considerations, and jungle movement. Initial teaching sessions and practical workshops begin.
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Teaching focuses on expedition medicine, tropical disease, environmental hazards, and practical fieldcraft. Participants will begin moving beyond the campus environment into the surrounding jungle, integrating practical learning with navigation, survival skills, and scenario-based teaching.
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Participants enter the jungle expedition phase of the course, travelling through remote terrain and developing campcraft, water purification, navigation, and casualty management skills in the field. Teaching becomes increasingly immersive and integrated into expedition movement.
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A full day of practical medical scenarios, evacuation exercises, and environmental teaching delivered within the jungle environment. Participants will develop leadership, teamwork, improvisation, and clinical reasoning skills under realistic expedition conditions.
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The course transitions into the river phase, with movement along the Chagres region by packraft. Participants will explore water-based travel, safety considerations, environmental hazards, and the logistical challenges of expedition medicine within dynamic terrain.
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Participants will spend time engaging with local communities and exploring the relationship between jungle living, traditional knowledge, and environmental medicine. The expedition concludes with a final evening at a rainforest lodge for debriefing, reflection, and some well-earned comfort after the expedition phase.
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Final course debrief, kit organisation, and onward transfers for departure from Panama.
PARTNERSHIP ORGANISATION
Jungle Guides International
At Jungle Guides International, we believe world-class jungle training should be accessible to everyone—not just those traveling from abroad. We bring together internationally aligned certifications, field-based learning, expeditions, and professional mentorship to help individuals and organizations develop the skills, confidence, and leadership needed to operate safely and responsibly in tropical environments.
What makes JGI different is our commitment to building alongside communities, not simply working within them. By supporting local leadership, creating accessible training pathways, and fostering a global network of professionals and adventurers, we are helping raise standards, expand opportunities, and shape the future of jungle training worldwide. Click here to visit their website.
Course Leader
Rick Morales - ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR, CENTRAL AMERICA
Rick Morales is a veteran explorer and expedition leader with more than two decades of experience guiding projects through some of Central America’s most challenging terrain. Founder of Jungle Treks Panama, he is widely respected for his deep knowledge of jungle operations, sustainable eco-tourism, and expedition leadership.
A native of Boquete, Panama, Rick is one of the very few people to have completed a continuous thru-hike of the entire length of Panama. As Association Director for Jungle Guides International, he helps shape expedition programmes, develop local partnerships, and deliver authentic jungle-based raining grounded in real-world field experience
COURSE LEADER
Dr Duncan Gray - Medical Director,
Jungle Guides International
Dr Duncan Gray is a semi-retired Emergency Medicine specialist and GP with more than 40 years of experience delivering medical care in remote, austere, and expedition environments worldwide. Following 18 years as an A&E Consultant in Glasgow, he relocated to the Scottish Highlands to pursue his passion for outdoor leadership, expedition travel, and wilderness medicine education.
Duncan has taught on wilderness medicine courses across the world, including in Morocco, Guatemala, and the Himalayas, and has provided medical cover on more than 30 international expeditions ranging from rainforest and desert environments to polar and maritime settings. Alongside his medical career, he holds a wide range of outdoor leadership and rescue qualifications across mountain, water, and rope disciplines, bringing extensive real-world expedition experience to the course faculty.
LOGISTICS
DATES & COST
February 27th - March 6th 2027. £2395*
*this cost may decrease dependent on numbers
LOCATION
Avifauna Campus & Jungle Region, Panama
Additional course locations include: Wounaan Indigenous Village / Chagres River / Rainforest Lodge accommodation
Further travel logistics, meeting points, and transfer information will be shared
with participants closer to the course start date.
INSURANCE & REGISTRATION
Participants are responsible for arranging their own visas (if required), health insurance, and comprehensive travel insurance including aeromedical evacuation and repatriation cover. This is a physically active expedition course delivered in remote jungle environments with limited facilities and prolonged outdoor exposure. Participants should have a reasonable level of fitness and some prior first aid or clinical experience.You will be required to register for the course ahead of the start date, so that we have all your information. There will be a WhatsApp group for all attendees.
CPD
25 self-certified CPD points.
Accommodation, FOOD & DRINK
Accommodation during the course includes a mixture of jungle camping, local village accommodation, and a final night at a rainforest lodge. Participants should expect expedition-style living, shared accommodation, and basic facilities during the jungle phase of the course. Core expedition infrastructure will be provided. Participants should bring personal kit as outlined in the
equipment list below.
All meals and refreshments are included whilst on the course in Panama. Participants should advise the team of any dietary requirements in advance. Alcohol, personal snacks, and additional food or drinks purchased outside of the course itinerary are not included.
KIT LIST
Day rucksack | Lightweight outdoor clothing | Waterproof jacket | Trekking footwear + sandals/water shoes | Water bottle / hydration system | Sleeping bag / liner + travel towel | Change of clothes + swimwear | Sun cream, hat & insect repellent | Head torch + power bank | Personal first aid kit & medications | Dry bags / waterproof kit bags | Pen & notebook
Optional: Camping hammock | Binoculars / camera | Personal snacks
INCLUSIONS
All accommodation during the course in Panama | Jungle expedition logistics and local transport | Teaching and practical instruction throughout the expedition | Packrafting and river movement activities | Camping and core expedition infrastructure | Meals and refreshments whilst on course | Local guides and support staff | Cultural and environmental immersion activities
EXCLUSIONS
International flights | Additional pre- and post-course accommodation may be arranged as a group package closer to departure | Travel insurance | Aeromedical evacuation / repatriation cover | Visas (if applicable) | Alcohol and personal snacks | Accommodation before or after the course dates | Personal kit and clothing