The Pearl Islands are a group of over a hundred islands (many tiny and uninhabited).

Islands: Contadora, was used by the Spanish conquistadors as a rest stop where they took inventory of their ooty prior to returning to Spain, hence the name (contador means counter or bookkeeper in Spanish).

The largest island, at ninety square miles, is Isla del Rey ("Island of the King"), its name probably referring to Christ the King rather than to a secular king. Isla del Rey has several towns, most notably San Miguel. It is easily larger than the other Pearl Islands combined, and is the second largest island in Panama, after Coiba.

Other islands are Bolano, Buena Vista, Cana, Casaya, Chapera, Chitre, Cocos, Espiritu Santo, Galera, Gallo, Gilbraleon, Lampon, Marin, Mina, Mogo Mogo o Pajaro, Pacheca, Pachequille, Pedro Gonzalez, Puerco, San Jose, Senora, Vivenda, Vivienda and Viveros.

The island of Galera has a facade of very tall coconut palm trees and a white sandy beach. Strong currents, combined with shallows and jagged reefs surrounding the island, make navigation near the island perilous.

History: Three million years ago the Isthmus of Panama was created, until then North and South America were divided by sea - it was the biggest and reportedly the most significant geological event in sixty million years. Prior to that date as the Earth's plates had begun to join, the Pearl Islands were created and they emerged from the sea. On Contadora and other islands in the group pre-Columbian artifacts have been found. The biggest island is Isla del Rey where more than fifteen pre-Columbian recognised archeological sites of the “Cuevas” and “Cocle” cultures have been identified. None of the original population remain.

The islands were first occupied by Indians who were (with their leader Terarequí) wiped out within two years of the islands' discovery by the Spanish. Vasco Nunez de Balboa discovered the islands Pearl Islands on his discovery of them in 1513 due to the many pearls which were found there. Another Spaniard, Gaspar de Morales, exterminated 20 local Indian chiefs not long after and gave them to his dogs to tear to pieces. Dites, another local chief, presented Morales with baskets of pearls, but this simply made the Spaniards want more and hastened the destruction of the native population. The Spaniards then needed workers to harvest pearls and imported slave labour in the 16th century from Africa whose descendants now live on the islands, particularly del Rey.

The Islands were frequently used by pirates in the years that followed and were relatively undisturbed until the 1960’s and 1970’s when the building of the resort on Contadora took place. 

Sustainability: The Chamber for Sustainable Tourism Las Pearlas aims to preserve the islands' delicate ecological balance.

Publicity: The Pearl Islands were featured in three seasons of the reality TV program Survivor, namely Survivor: Pearl Islands, Survivor: All-Stars and Survivor: Panama. The Pearl Islands were also featured in season 2 of the Israeli version of the American reality TV program Survivor - "Survivor 10: Pearl Islands", and the BBC TV series The Real Swiss Family Robinson. In 2011 The Pearl Islands were featured in Ukrainian version of the American reality TV program Survivor.