Around 1630, people from Manabí, Ecuador, started making hats out of the leaves of the toquilla palm (Carludovica palmata), a plant that grows in the warmer parts of Ecuador and looks a lot like a palm tree. This was the first time the Panama hat was worn. Before this, people in the area were already making hats to protect their ears.

During the 1600s, this cloth started to be used instead of cotton for hats. The hatmakers in Montecristi and Jipijapa were experts at making a style of hat that came before the Panama hat. At the Paris Universal Exposition in 1855, these hats got attention from all over the world. Queen Isabella II of Spain ordered an infantry company to wear the “Jipijapa hat” as part of their dress in 1859. The hat became an instant hit and was even sold in other countries. During the gold rush, gold seekers on their way to California wore it. After the turn of the century, workers at the Panama Canal wore it.

It was common for these hats to be shipped through Panama, where officials marked them for travel to North America and Europe. That’s how they got their name. The name stuck after a picture of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt wearing a “Sombrero Fino” while he was visiting the Panama Canal came out in 1906.

Most Panama hats are made in workshops near Cuenca and coastal towns in Ecuador (Montecristi and Jipijapa). Production can take from one day to eight months, depending on how fine the yarns are. 

These hats cost anywhere from ten dollars to several thousand dollars. They range from Regular, which is the most basic, to Fino, Extra Fino, and Supremo or Super Fino, which is the best.

The Panama hat is still very popular today. And in 2012, UNESCO put the Ecuadorian Panama hat on its list of the world’s most important intangible cultural heritage.
It’s important to note that this award shows how important the hat is to Ecuador’s indigenous people and the traditional ways they make them.

If you want to know how to buy these amazing hats directly from Ecuador – send us an e-mail to info@egt.ec or visit our Tour locations in our webpage https://blog.responsibletravelsa.com  and find the best Tours in Ecuador while you shop beautiful handicrafts.