San Blas Islands (Guna Yala): 365 Caribbean Islands

The two names

The archipelago has been called the San Blas Islands for most of the modern period, a name inherited from the Spanish colonial era. The comarca, the Indigenous semiautonomous region in which the islands and a strip of mainland are organised, was officially renamed from “San Blas” to “Guna Yala” in October 2011, when the Government of Panama recognised the Guna people’s claim that “Guna” was a closer representation of how the Indigenous people referred to themselves^[1]. Both names are still in common use: travel marketing continues to use “San Blas,” and “Guna Yala” is the formal administrative name.

The shift in 2011 is part of a broader regional pattern in which Panamanian Indigenous comarcas have moved toward names chosen by their residents rather than names inherited from colonial geography. The Ngäbe-Buglé comarca took its present name in 1997; the Emberá-Wounaan comarca was established in 1983 with its present name.

The comarca and its legal basis

The comarca of Guna Yala is one of five Indigenous comarcas in Panama (the others being Emberá-Wounaan, Ngäbe-Buglé, Kuna de Madugandí, and Kuna de Wargandí). Its governmental structure was defined by Law 16 of 1953^[1]. The comarca was further refined by a Supreme Court ruling of 23 March 2001, which set out a different political and administrative organisation within the comarca’s self-governing framework^[1]. The comarca’s name was changed from San Blas to Kuna Yala by Ley 99 de 23 de diciembre de 1998^[2] (an assembly act titled “Por la cual se denomina Comarca Kuna Yala a la Comarca de San Blas”), and subsequently from Kuna Yala to Guna Yala in October 2011 (per Spanish-Wikipedia and English-Wikipedia records)^[1].

The comarca covers the San Blas archipelago and a strip of mainland along the eastern Caribbean coast of Panama, from just east of Colón to the Colombian border. Its population (2010 census) was 31,557^[1]. The comarca government is the Guna General Congress, which operates under the comarca’s customary law and Panama’s national framework.

The 1953 law is one of the early modern Indigenous-rights instruments in Latin America. The Guna rebellion of 1925, in which the Guna briefly expelled the Panamanian National Police and established their own administration, was a key precursor, and the 1953 law was an attempt to formalise the Guna’s self-governing arrangements within the Panamanian state.

The islands

The archipelago runs along the Caribbean coast for about 200 km, from the Panama-Colombia border south to about the latitude of the Bay of Panamá. The total number of islands is roughly 365, with the population concentrated on the larger islands and the mainland strip.

The islands fall into three broad groups:

1. Western San Blas (closer to Panamá City). This is the most-visited group, with day-trip and overnight access from Panama City. The larger islands in this group have airstrips, basic tourist lodging, and well-established cultural-tourism operators. Most of the visible tourism to the comarca happens here.
2. Central San Blas. Less-visited, more traditional Guna life, with smaller islands and fewer tourist services. The central group includes the larger community of Gardi Sugdub (until 2024, one of the most populated Guna islands and the site of a major climate-relocation program).
3. Eastern San Blas (closer to Colombia). The most remote and least-visited group. The eastern group is closer to the Darién and shares some cultural and ecological features with the Darién Indigenous communities across the border.

The islands are low-lying coral atolls and reef islands; the highest point is on the mainland strip. The coral-reef ecosystem is central to the Guna fishery and is increasingly threatened by warming sea temperatures and ocean acidification.

Climate and ecology

The archipelago sits in Panama’s perhumid Caribbean climate regime, with year-round rainfall and mean annual totals around 2,500–3,500 mm. The trade winds blow onshore continuously from the northeast; the relative lull comes in February through April. Temperature is uniformly warm year-round (26–28 °C mean).

The coral reefs around the islands are ecologically rich and have historically supported a productive artisanal fishery. The reef ecosystem has been affected by the same regional pressures that have hit the rest of the Caribbean (warming sea temperatures, bleaching events, disease outbreaks) and the 2023 bleaching event reduced Caribbean coral cover by 16.9 % across the basin. The environmental-challenges and guna-yala-climate-crisis pages cover the climate-driven ecological pressures in detail.

The Guna economy: fishing, tourism, and molas

The Guna economy in the comarca rests on three activities: fishing, tourism, and the production of molas (the hand-stitched textile art unique to the Guna)^[1][3]. The fishery is artisanal, using hand-lines and small nets; most catch is sold rather than consumed at home. Seafood (lobster, crab, squid, octopus) is sold to mainland markets or to visitors^[1].

Tourism is the fastest-growing component of the Guna economy. Most visitors come for 2-4 day stays in island lodging, with day trips to neighbouring communities and snorkeling on the reefs. The comarca government regulates tourism through community-run cooperatives; almost all island stays are organised through Guna-owned operators. Tourism is a meaningful source of income but is tightly controlled to preserve cultural and environmental integrity.

Mola production is the main activity of Guna women^[1]. Molas are hand-stitched reverse-appliqué textile panels, traditionally used as the front and back panels of Guna women’s blouses, and now produced for both traditional wear and as commercial textile art^[3]. The mola tradition is a recognised cultural patrimony of the comarca and is one of Panama’s distinctive Indigenous art forms; molas are in museum collections from the Smithsonian to the British Museum.

Visiting the islands

Independent travel to Guna Yala is restricted: the islands are administered by the comarca, and entry regulations require visitors to arrange lodging through a registered Guna operator and to pay an entry fee (set by the comarca). Most visitors arrive by air from Panama City (small commercial flights to the larger islands) or by 4×4 road to the mainland strip plus boat transfer.

A typical 2-3 day visit includes:

• Day 1. Fly from Panama City (Albrook airport) to a community airstrip (Achutupu, Playón Chico, or another registered destination). Boat to the island lodging.
• Day 2. Day activities: snorkeling on the reef, visit to a neighbouring community, mola purchase from local makers.
• Day 3. Return by air or boat to Panama City.

The dry-season window (mid-December through April) is the most popular but also the busiest. The shoulder season (November and late April) often has good weather and fewer visitors.

Climate change and the islands

The San Blas Islands are increasingly on the front line of climate-driven displacement. The 2024 Gardi Sugdub relocation, the movement of roughly 300 Guna families from the sinking island of Gardi Sugdub to the newly-built mainland community of Isberyala, was one of the first climate-driven relocations of an entire community in Panama’s modern history. The guna-yala-climate-crisis page covers the climate, the relocation, and the broader climate-displacement context in detail.

Daily life in the comarca

The Guna economy combines three principal activities (fishing, tourism, and mola production) and the rhythm of daily life on the islands reflects all three. Fishing is largely artisanal, using hand-lines and small nets, with most catch sold rather than consumed locally; lobster, crab, squid, and octopus are the principal species. Tourism is regulated by the comarca government through a system of registered community-based operators; day-trip visitors and overnight guests stay in community-owned accommodation, with fees collected by the local saila (Guna chief) and the comarca congress. Mola production is the principal activity of Guna women and is a recognised art form with international markets.

The Guna maintain their own political and legal system within the comarca, including the casa de congreso (congress house) in each community, where the saila and the women’s inamulid (chief women’s role) lead community decisions. The comarca’s relationship with the national government is governed by the 1953 law and subsequent rulings; the Panamanian state recognises the comarca’s autonomy over internal affairs but maintains jurisdiction over national-level matters (defence, foreign affairs, the criminal code). The arrangement has been broadly stable since the 1925 Guna Revolution but continues to be a work in progress, especially around natural-resource rights and the long-term effects of climate change on the islands.

When to skip and when to read on

If you only have a minute, the load-bearing facts are: the San Blas Islands are an archipelago of roughly 365 islands in Panama’s Caribbean, organised as the Indigenous comarca of Guna Yala; the comarca was established by Law 16 of 1953 and renamed from San Blas to Guna Yala in October 2011. The guna-yala-culture page in the indigenous section covers the cultural side; the guna-yala-climate-crisis page in this section covers the climate displacement story; and the san-blas-tour page in the travel section covers the practical visitor logistics.

Further context on the 1925 Guna Revolution

The 1925 Guna Revolution, a brief but successful armed uprising against Panamanian central-government police presence in the islands, is the founding event of the modern Guna-Yala comarca. The revolt was sparked by Panamanian attempts to enforce the central-government cultural assimilation programme on the islands; the Guna, who had defended themselves against earlier Spanish and Colombian attempts at conquest, refused to give up customary law and self-governance. After several days of fighting and a Panamanian naval blockade, the uprising was resolved by diplomatic negotiation that included Panamanian recognition of Guna autonomy; the arrangement evolved into the 1938 constitution and eventually the 1953 Law 16 (the current governing law of the comarca). The events of 1925 are commemorated annually on February 25 (the Día de la Revolución), and the Guna flag (a green field with a black swastika-like nuchu symbol, itself a Guna cultural borrowing that predates European use) was designed at the time of the revolution.

Quick reference

Last reviewed: 2026-07-03