Wild Beauty of Paraguay

Your overseas adventures in Paraguay begin today! Transfer to your hotel, relax, enjoy the hotel pool, and perhaps walk around the local area exploring nearby sites.

Your tour guide will meet you and your fellow travelers for dinner and discuss all the fascinating exploring that lies ahead for the week.

Explore Asuncion today, a city with Spanish colonial history and architecture going back to the 1500s. Visit the site where independence was proclaimed, as well as the oldest train station in South America, and learn about the National Pantheon of Heroes with its regular changing of the guard. Visit the favorite Museo del Barro, where modern paintings contrast with pre-Columbian and indigenous arts and crafts.

Explore the streets, neighborhoods, and markets and, of course, try a delicious, traditional empanada!

Spend today discovering the culture and artistic traditions of the rural villages around Asuncion. Explore villages such as Aregua and Luque, which are known for their unique and one-of-a-kind handcrafts of jewelry, ceramics, and other creations. See the famous Church of San Buenaventura in Yaguaron, the German village of San Bernadino, and stop at the pilgrimage site of Caacupe with the sculpture of “Our Lady of the Miracles” that has many miracles attributed to it. Enjoy this fascinating look at life beyond the big city of Asuncion.

Travel beyond the city again today to the Chaco, a region of abundant wildlife and indigenous cultures.  Discover the wealth of plants and animals in this isolated region and visit a school for vulnerable, indigenous children and learn about their self-management, self-sustaining education model. In generating their own resources, they can provide a safe place to live and learn the real-life skills to run businesses in agriculture and tourism. Participate in activities with the children on the farm and see how it all works.

Afterward, enjoy a boat cruise along the Paraguay River where, in the middle of the river, you’ll discover an old castle for you to explore and learn its history.  Another fascinating day of unique experiences as you continue to get to know Paraguay.

Enjoy a fun day traveling around to discover the traditional arts and crafts of Paraguay from embroidery to ceramics. In Ita, see the exhibition of an award-winning potter, Rosa Britez; admire the original designs of “Nanduti needle lace” in Itaugua; visit a workshop in Aregua where clay and mud are transformed into beautiful and unique creations. These may be ideal places to purchase some handcrafted remembrances to take home with you!

Today, take a journey to Ciudad del Este, on the border of Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina, to see one of the most beautiful places in the world. It is here you will cross the Friendship Bridge to experience the UNESCO World Heritage Site of breathtaking Iguazu Falls and one of the world’s natural wonders! Although the falls are accessible from all three countries, it derives its name from the Guarani natives who lived there and has a uniquely Paraguayan culture. Just looking at these majestic falls (there’s more than 275 of them!) is truly a spectacular sight, but you can also take a boat ride beneath the falls or ride the jungle train above them to see the vast biodiversity around you. Enjoy your overnight here, and explore more of the area tomorrow!

Before heading back to Asuncion, immerse yourself in more breathtaking views of these majestic falls, and then do a little more exploring of your choice nearby. You can visit the Itaipu Dam, the second-largest dam in the world and one of the seven wonders of the modern world. This joint project of Paraguay and Brazil produces sustainable energy and provides electricity to 85 percent of Paraguay’s people. It is not without controversy, however, for the 10,000 families whose homes it displaced, the merging of two ecoregions resulting in invasive species problems, and the loss of the world’s largest volume waterfall.

You can also discover the former home of the Swiss scientist Moises Bertoni ─ it is here that he studied and became passionate about the people and culture of the Guarani people and protecting them. His fascinating museum is filled with a lifetime of work of discoveries, observations, and contributions to science and the Guarani people.

Enjoy your last delicious dinner with your fellow travelers and guide as you return to Asuncion and reflect upon your unique adventures in Paraguay.

Enjoy the last breakfast with your group before saying goodbye. Take with you the amazing memories of your trip to Paraguay. Remember the people you met along the way, how they live, and how they strive to overcome the challenges faced by poverty. Remember the raw beauty of the Chaco and Iguazu Falls. Cherish it all and the connections you made, and hopefully, one day, you will return!