Set up in 1986 over an area of 25.275 bectares, it is located north of the town of El Copé in Coclé Privince above the country's central mountain range, which serves as a watershed between the Caribbean and the Pacific. Maximum altitude is reached on Cerro Peña Blanca 1.314 meters above sea level. 1.046 meter high Cerro marta, where the plane carrying general Torrijos chashed in 1981, is also located there.

With very complex orography, average temperatures range between 25° C on the peaks. There is also a considerable difference between the 2.000 mm annual precipitation that falls on the drier Pacific slope and the 4.000 mm on the Carribbean side.

The park protects the headwaters of the most important rivers in the region such as the San Juan, Belén and Concepciòn on the Caribbean slope, and the Grande, Marta and Nombre de Dios on the Pacific side.

In the upper reaches, low montane rainforest grows, and further down there is premontane rainforest, very moist premontane forest with very moist tropical forest in th lower parts of the rainsoaked Caribbean slope.

The area is also very rich in botanical endemism such a Manettia hydrophila or Anthurium coclense. Among the endangered mammal species still living in the park, are all the cat species to be found in Panama, including the jaguar (Panthera onca), puma (felis concolor) ocelot (felis pardalis), margay (felis wiedii) and jaguarundi (Felis yagouroundi). There are also stable populations of tapir (tapirus bairdii), collare peccary (tayassu tajacu), white - lipped peccary (Tassau pecari) and white-tailed deer (Odoicoleus virginianus).

Birdlife is very well represente, including the noteworthy rare and elusive orange-bellied trogon (Trogon aurantiventris), bare - necked umbrella bird (Cephalopterus glabricollis),snowcap (Microhera alboronata) and the rare strong billed woodcreeper (Xiphocolaptes promeropihynchus).