Attractions from Paraguay

Asunción

The Andrés Barbero Ethnographic Museum

This museum in Asunción gives an extraordinary insight into the development of everyday life and culture in Paraguay over the years. Especially the collection of photographs throws light on the development, but the numerous archaeological finds are also very interesting.

The Gobierno Palace

During the dictatorship those who stood and watched the presidential palace were sentenced to death. But that is in the past and today both tourists and locals can stop and watch the resplendent palace and the beautiful flag-ceremony, which takes place every day.

The Panteón de los Héroes Burial Place

The burial place of some of the Commanders-in-Chief and soldiers who have fallen in the wars that Paraguay has fought against its neighbouring countries is a symbol of how highly military men are still esteemed in the country. 'Heroes' still play a big role in the people's understanding of the country's history.

The Petrossi market

The markets are a central part of South American culture. The inhabitants of Asunción also love going to the market and there is always a bubbling hustle and bustle around the eternally packed stalls. At the Mercado Petrossi Saturday market along Avenida Petrossi it is possible to watch the entertaining scenarios when people meet to talk, laugh, eat, drink and, oh yes, shop.

Eastern Paraguay (El Chaco)

The city of Ciudad de Este

What Ciudad de Este lacks in charm and sights is fully made up by its vitality and craziness. It is a genuine smuggler's town where everything can be bought and sold. Big vans suddenly stop in the street and the cargo consisting of VCR's, leather jackets and stereos is sold in just a few minutes. Even the buying and selling of legal goods takes place so fast that it is difficult to keep up.

The town of Itaugua

Itaugua is home of Paraguay's famous artware nandutí, which is some incredibly delicate cobwebby lace that the women in the town do by hand. You can watch them at work and purchase a good souvenir from Paraguay. The town's museum, which exhibits artefacts from the colonial age up until now, is also worth a visit. The outstanding artware is celebrated in July at the Festival de Nandutí.

Paraguay

The Defensores del Chaco National Park

This park, which is situated in the outermost corner of El Chaco, is the largest and most inaccessible park in the country. Yet, it is the place in all of South America that offers the greatest opportunity to see jaguars, pumas and other big catlike carnivores. The forest is very dense and in some places completely impassable. It is always possible to navigate by the top of Cerro Leon, a mountain which is 500 meters high and offers a break from the otherwise flat landscape.

The Itaipú Dam

This gargantuan monstrosity on the border between Paraguay and Brazil is the world's biggest hydro-electrical project ever. The water from the Rio Iguacu and Río Paraná rivers forces its way through the dam and produces electricity. Sadly, the building is on the site where the world's biggest waterfall, Sete Quedas, used to be. The dam is an impressive construction and definitely worth a visit.

The National Park of Ybycuí

Ybycuí is 150 km.s from Ascunción. Small streams, which turn into waterfalls running down into the numerous natural swimming pools, run down the steep hillsides. This scenery is placed in luscious rainforest with trails. The park is home of thousands of colorful butterflies.

The steam train between Asunción and Areguá

Hawking and spitting, the old steam train pulls out of the station in Asunción and begins its journey towards the one-horse town of Areguá. It goes through some of the poor suburbs of Asunción and passes the botanical gardens and then ends up in Areguá. It is a very fun ride on the old train and several places, which are worth seeing, are passed along the way.

The town of Neu-Halbstadt

This town was founded by German immigrants, as the name indicates, in the middle of the 20th century. The town itself is nothing out of the way but the big Indian reservations, which are situated south of the town, deserve a closer look. Indian handicraft of outstanding quality can be bought in Neu-Halbstadt.

The Trinidad and Jesus Ruins

Some of the best preserved Jesuit ruins, which stems from the civilisation that was made to flourish by Spanish priests and local Indians in the 17th century, can be found on the border to Argentina. Musical instruments and religious artefacts were produced here, but the priests and the Indians also did well-functioning farming and cattle rearing.

The wooden church in Yaguarón

It is the town's gigantic wooden church that makes it worth a visit. The Franciscan building that dates back to the 18th century has become the trademark of the town, which is understandable, as it is as impressive as it is remarkable. The town also has a small, not uninteresting, museum.

Tifunque National Park

This park is one of the most attractive parks in the country if it is wild animals you want to see. Both crocodiles and capivars are lurking on the flat, outspread savannah and in the unnerving yellow-brown swamps, while numerous colorful birds glide through the air above them.

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