Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. The Panama Canal is 82km of locks and channel connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific across the isthmus, and the engineering behind it is more interesting than the postcard version suggests. This is the story of how it works and how it got built; if you’re planning where to actually stand and watch it, see our guide to visiting the canal instead.