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Awesome places to visit in Paraguay?This page refers to places to visit in Paraguay in the Iguassu Falls area, most of them within a very short distance from the falls. There are some great places to visit in Paraguay as you come by the Iguassu Falls that can make an already great trip turn into a fabulous one! And so, if you are planning to visit the fascinating Iguassu Falls why not also discover Paraguay on one same trip and destination? All you need to do is reserve a few extra days there and rethink the city where you will lodge and fly to. The Iguassu Falls are located in the so called Triple Frontier area and surrounded by three nearby cities, Ciudad del Este (Paraguay), Foz do Iguassu (Brazil) and Puerto Iguazu (Argentina). Places to visit in Paraguay are more accessible if you lodge in Ciudad del Este. Please read our Iguassu Falls hotels page for further information about our recommended lodging options there. The Iguassu Falls, of course, are the grand attraction. If you haven’t read about them yet it is a good moment to do so now before I acquaint you with the places to visit in Paraguay. Our Iguassu Falls Facts page is a good place to start. Ready to start your tour of places to visit in Paraguay? Here comes the first one! Places to visit in Paraguay # 1: Downtown Ciudad del Este
You can’t separate Ciudad del Este from the joy of shopping! That’s what this city’s business center is meant for. The town is a picturesque giant “flea market” full of outdoor and indoor shops where you can buy almost anything, usually at bargain prices. Shopping in Ciudad del Este deserves a separated chapter so if you are interested please read our
Facts about Paraguay page
where we report you our shopping experiences there.
Special Tip for shoppers. Shopping and lodging in Ciudad del Este has one big advantage: you don’t need to cross Brazil and Argentina customs on your way back to the hotel. No local customs authority will deny you passing through your shopped goods but the lineups and delays on the frontiers can be annoying. You can avoid this by lodging in Ciudad del Este. Following is one of my favorite places to visit in Paraguay. Places to visit in Paraguay # 2: Museum of the Guarani Land
The Museum of the Guarani Land is an impressive location among the places to visit in Paraguay where you get to know lots of things about the people who lived in the Iguassu Falls territory before the Europeans arrived. Did you know humans already lived there 10.000 years ago?
I recommend visiting this museum before actually visiting the Iguassu Falls so you can get hands on to the essence of the Guarani culture and how the Guarani people developed a mystical relationship with this land. This is what I like to call the “Spirit of the Falls” that passes unnoticed to most Iguassu Falls visitors.
But let's continue our tour of places to visit in Paraguay. Places to visit in Paraguay # 3: Itaipu Zoo
In the same location of the museum is the best Zoo of the Iguassu Falls area where you can admire many animal species of this land. Here are two of our favorites among many other animals you can watch in this beautiful little Zoo.
Named “Kumbiri” by the Guarani natives, this strange animal is fantastically adapted to feed on ants and termites it obtains from ant/termite hills and dead trees that abound in the Iguassu Falls rainforest. To gather his food the Giant Anteater uses its keen sense of smell that allows him to distinguish different ant and termite species hidden underground and on tree trunks. Once found an ant nest he uses its powerful forelegs and claws to rip open the ant/termite hill or nest. Next he puts in to use his long nose and darts his 2 feet (60 cm) long tongue inside the nest to capture his prey by the thousands. This mammal has no teeth but uses his palate and jaw movements to grind the bugs before swallowing them. His powerfully muscled stomach finishes the job preparing the bugs for digestion. One giant anteater can devour 30,000 ants/termites per day, that’s quite a plentiful protein-rich diet!
Wouldn’t you like to have one of these “monsters” in your back yard for pest control? He will surely control your ant and termite problem! There’s one detail though, he would also tear apart your home searching for the bugs. The Giant Anteater has an obvious important role in controlling the insect population of the jungle together with the many insect-eating bird species and amphibians that live in this environment. Without these insect-predators the rainforest would be eaten in no time by an ever growing population of hungry vegetarian bugs.
Here’s a picture of a typical ant/termite hill the Giant Anteater loves. The Guarani natives call it “Takuru”.
I’ve found excellent information about this curious animal written by Waia Weinstock, an expert and lover of Giant Anteaters. You can check it out at her Online Anteater site. In this great place among awesome places to visit in Paraguay you will also see a “bigger fish” that is predator of the Giant Anteater…
The Jaguar
This is one of the last links of the long and complex food-chain of the Iguassu Falls jungle, also called the American Tiger. The name “Jaguar” derives from the original Guarani term “Jaguarete” or more precisely, “Jagua-rete” that means Jagua=dog and rete=body and meaning “with a dog’s body”.
Guarani Etymology. The etymology of the Guarani word “Jaguarete” is still under discussion by the scholars but when I ask Guarani speaking Paraguayan’s what does “Jaguarete” mean to them they univocally answer me it means “with a dog’s body”. It’s interesting to see that in the Guarani language the term “Jagua” is used as a prefix in naming a broad variety of animals but they all have in common they walk on four legs, have canines and are carnivorous, a common characteristic of dogs. The term “Jaguar” (with the ending “r”) by itself does not exist in the Guarani lexicon. Guarani Mythology of the Jaguarete. The Guarani mythology explains the origin of the Jaguarete as the incestuous son born from a female Añag and his son. The Añag’s are mythological mean beings (Añag is the Guarani equivalent for “devil”) living in the jungle and so, the Jaguarete was considered a most evil creature and for this reason not eaten and hunted for by the Guarani people who notably believed that eating an animal transmitted his nature to the eater. Did you know the Guaranis practiced occasional cannibalism? When wining prisoners on war they picked the most notable warrior among them to eat him and thus gain his courage, strength or fighting abilities. The Guaranis considered Nature and all its inhabitants sacred and related to them in a magical way, for good and for bad. This is, we can say, the original Guarani “ecological” view of the world. They understood many centuries before we that man is an inseparable part of this world and that Nature is our mother, home and provider and that we cannot ignore her rules without suffering the consequences. There are so many interesting creatures to see in this Zoo! A must visit place among places to visit in Paraguay! As you may notice, visiting the Museum of the Guarani Land, the Zoo and the Iguassu Falls (in that order) can give you the unique experience of viewing this land with the eyes and spirit of the Guarani people. In doing so I can guarantee that you will engulf yourself into a strange and fascinating world otherwise invisible to the non-Guarani visitor. This is the world I like calling… the spirit of the Iguassu Falls. And speaking of the Guarani people, there is another place you should appear in amid the places to visit in Paraguay. It is home to the story and life of a remarkable Swiss man who learned about the Guaranis probably more than any other European of his time.
Places to visit in Paraguay # 4: Moises Bertoni’s Home and Museum
There’s quite a story behind this one particular place in our tour of places to visit in Paraguay. Moises Bertoni was a true idealist and passionate botanist who settled with his family in the Paraguayan jungles in 1894 to put into practice his anarchist ideals brought in from Europe. He ended up falling in love with the Guarani culture and people whom, as he discovered, had being practicing his socialist ideals for centuries before he arrived. After a 30 minute ride from Downtown Ciudad del Este on stone-paved and dirt roads, our tour of places to visit in Paraguay brings us to this isolated location.
This is the access road to Bertoni's home. The people on the photo are Guarani natives who live in Bertoni's reserve.
Moises Bertoni(s) settlement alongside the Parana River is preserved exactly as it was when he lived there. You can walk inside his hard-wood house, home of his family, dreams and struggles.
Guarani children like these often visited Bertoni's home, looking for food, medicines or simply human warmth.
Bertoni(s) house has breathtaking views of the Parana River and surrounding jungles that was also his working place as botanist, anthropologist and climatologist.
Bertoni(s) house was also his lab, library and printing shop where he self-printed his scientific papers (most of them never became public in the scientific community).
Moises Bertoni(s) reliable rain forecasts were used by Paraguayan, Brazilian and Argentinean farmers for decades after his death. A meticulous observer of nature and the Guarani people who lived with him in his Guillermo Tell colony, he classified thousands of plants and learned from the Guaranis many medicinal applications of herbs and became the most knowledgeable European of the Guarani people and culture. Probably, Moises Bertoni(s) most significant contribution was his passion to promote and protect the Guarani culture and people and doing so had big influence on the making of Paraguay’s actual cultural identity.
Most remarkably, on this particular tour of places to visit in Paraguay you will encounter the Guarani descendants whom are still living in Bertoni's protected wild reserve.
This charming young girl takes care of his two smaller brothers. The duties of raising the kids start at a very early age in the Guarani communities.
This is a typical Guarani village. Not exactly a place where we are accustomed to live in but these people have happiness drawn on their faces and tell us they live in peace. “Nature provides us of everything we need” is the saying of a “Karai” or old man of this community.
They live here organized in small communities according to their traditions. The Guarani people are the friendliest and warmest people you will ever find! No wonder Bertoni believed they were a superior kind of human beings!
Here's an old picture of Bertoni and his wife. In this museum you can read a moving love letter Bertoni wrote to the woman of his life. Bertoni's love for this land was only surpased by his love for her. They were an inseparable couple and gave birth to 13 sons!
Moises Bertoni and his wife are buried in this same spot they loved so dearly. This is a place, a character and story Hollywood producers could make a movie of!
Enjoying a break by the Parana River is part of the fun of visiting Bertoni's place! The water is crystal clear and cool, watch-out with the mosquitoes and tricky currents of this river!
One tip when visiting this place, bring some cookies and candies to give to the Guarani children you will encounter, they will love you for that! Bringing clothes is very appreciated too!
Places to visit in Paraguay # 5: Monday Waterfalls These waterfalls are the “smaller sisters” of the Iguassu Falls. You probably will never hear of them out of this page and most Iguassu Falls visitors neither get to know they exist. This is a pity for them but an advantage for you since the Monday Waterfalls are a great natural attraction that you can enjoy almost privately as if you were the landlord of the place. Wouldn't it be nice to own this place? Well… maybe I’m exaggerating a little, but they truly are a worthwhile and uncongested place to visit. Here's a map to show you their relative location in the Triple Frontier Area.
Are the Monday Waterfalls significant enough to visit? Let me show you how they actually are…
This is a panoramic view of them from a certain distance.
They are the second largest ones in the area, only behind the Iguassu Falls.
Getting there takes a 15 minute ride away from your hotel in Ciudad del Este, the Monday Waterfalls are a perfect stand for a sunny afternoon escape. Also good for picnicking since there are well kept gardens to stretch yourself on as you watch the beautiful scenery. This isn’t Iguassu Falls alright, but they certainly are significant enough to be one of our awesome places to visit in Paraguay, especially if you are already on the Iguassu Falls area!
The Monday River falls over a 40 m (131 feet) cliff and rapids down a canyon turning right just before flowing into the Parana River.
The place is very impressive, with easy-to-walk stairs, paths and close-up balconies that put you right over the waterfalls.
Bring small change with you to pay the entrance ticket, it costs 2.000 Guaranies (that's Paraguay's currency) or aprox. USD 0,40 per person. One comment about the name of the waterfalls. The name “Monday” has nothing to do with the day of the week; this is a Guarani term meaning “robbed water”. Our tour of places to visit in Paraguay continues with what is considered one of the 7 modern man-made wonders.
Places to visit in Paraguay # 6: The Itaipu Hydroelectric Dam
Parana is a Guarani word meaning “copious river” and for good reasons the Guarani natives named it this way. It is the second largest in South America and comparable to the Mississippi. Taming this river for hydroelectric power generation required one of the world’s greatest engineering marvels: the Itaipu Dam. Itaipu is also a Guarani word meaning “singing rocks” and the name of a small island that existed where the Dam now stands. When visiting Itaipu you will be received in a Visitor’s Center and invited to watch a documentary movie about the technical characteristics and challenges that had to be solved to build this colossal construction that generates by itself 25% of Brazil’s electric consumption and is the largest hydroelectric power plant in operation in the world (the Three Gorge Dam in China will be larger when fully operational). Paraguay and Brazil are equal partners and owners of Itaipu but almost all the generated energy is sold to Brazil. After viewing the movie, its time to watch the real thing!
After visiting this place I can imagine archaeologists 5,000 years from now trying to figure out how this place could possibly be built with our actual “primitive technology” in the same way they now reason about the Keops Pyramid in Egypt. Once again, it’s nothing else than the good-old “human endeavor” who did Itaipu. You can visit the Itaipu Dam during the night for a an awesome show of light and music. Watching the giant concrete wall of the Dam artificially illuminated is impressive! This spectacle is performed only on Fridays and Saturdays at 9:30 pm and you have to be there at least one hour before the show begins. Visiting the Itaipu Dam is easy if you are lodging in Ciudad del Este, your hotel will be located only minutes away.
Itaipu's Technical Data. If you are more engineer-minded then I and interested on technical data about the Itaipu Dam there’s a very good article in Wikipedia. Just click on this Itaipu Dam link to go there. Additionally, if that’s not enough you can go to Itaipu’s Official Website , it’s written in Spanish, Portuguese and English. But the best part on our tour of places to visit in Paraguay is about to begin!
The Itaipu Dam created an artificial lake with a total area of 1,350 square kilometers (520 square miles). The Parana River, Itaipu Dam and lake can be clearly seen on this satellite picture.
Adjacent to the Itaipu Lake and on the Paraguayan shore (to the left of the Parana River on the upper map) there are several wildlife reserves managed by Itaipu that preserve the subtropical Atlantic rainforest that once covered large extensions of Paraguay and southern Brazil. These reserves hold one of the richest wildlife resources in the world, a true paradise for Nature lovers and birdwatching enthusiasts. But these places are not open to the public, not at least on an unrestricted and uncontrolled manner, which makes them even more interesting to visit as they remain almost untouched. They are a great chance to discover the original Paraguayan rainforests that have almost completely disappeared to logging and cropland development. Getting access to these fabulous wild lands only requires a previous written permit from Itaipu’s environmental authorities. I will give you full instructions for this procedure further ahead on this page. Now let me show you two of these incredible places to visit in Paraguay.
Wild places to visit in Paraguay # 1: Tati Yupi
This wildlife reserve is located nearest from Ciudad del Este and therefore with the easiest access from your hotel (if you are lodging in this city).
With an area of 2.245 hectares (5.548 acres) this biologic refuge is a small sample of the Paraguayan subtropical Atlantic rainforest contained inside a peninsula that enters into the Itaipu lake (see map).
This is the entrance to the reserve. Nobody is allowed in without a previous written authorization.
Here we are driving on the main internal road of the reserve (marked as a yellow line on the map). We will be heading to the extreme right-end of the peninsula where the lodging, camping and recreational facilities are located.
Crossing longitudinally the peninsula, this road gives birth to many lateral paths allowing a thorough exploration of the area. Walking these rainforest paths is what I like most doing when visiting Tati Yupi and this is the best way to witness the flora and fauna of the place.
Here’s my son Santiago and his friend walking into one of those paths
Tati Yupi is home to 39 species of mammals, 247 of birds, 21 of reptiles and hundreds of plant species. It’s impressive if you take into account the relatively small size of this biologic refuge. If you are a birdwatcher or botanist you will want to stay here for several days! Staying here during the night is an unforgettable experience! To hear the nocturnal sounds of the jungle is absolutely amazing!
Tati Yupi is also a good place for a one day stand. You can come here in the morning, bring your lunch with you or plan a hamburger barbecue and leave at early evening. This will give you time to walk around the rainforest paths adjacent to the camping site…
…enjoy a bicycle tour (bikes are provided on the spot)…
…return to the "old times" riding on a horse-drawn carriage…
…play volleyball...
Staring the Itaipu Lake from the shore is also great! (No swimming is allowed).
A strong north wind was blowing when we were there.
The reserve has good camping facilities, including beautiful open areas to settle your tent, bathrooms, shower rooms with hot water, electricity, drinking water sources, fireplaces and roofed dining places in the open. The best part is that if you visit this place during week-days Tati Yupi will be almost deserted from visitors and using the facilities is free!
Can you miss visiting Tati Yupi on your trip to Iguassu Falls? As I said before, all you need is the will to go and an entrance permit. Getting there is a matter of minutes if you are lodging in Ciudad del Este.
Wild Places to visit in Paraguay # 2: Itabo With 15.208 hectares (37.580 acres) of the purest subtropical Atlantic rainforest, this is Itaipu’s largest biologic reserve and due to its size and remote location is among the richest in flora and fauna diversity of all Itaipu’s protected areas. This is my favorite among the places to visit in Paraguay. The crude beauty of this place is beyond words… ...when my kids saw what fallows they couln't help jump off the car and inmediately ran into this island of green surrounded by a 30 m (98 feet) tall wall of virgin jungle!
This is a true paradise for Nature lovers, birdwatchers and a treasure for scientists who want to study Paraguay’s subtropical rainforests in its natural settings.
This unique paradise among places to visit in Paraguay is named for the Itabo River that crosses its territory. Itabo means "cracked rock" in Guarani.
The reserve is traversed by many inner roads for easy access to all rainforest areas.
It has a camping and recreational area with incredible views of the Itaipu Lake and all the basic facilities for a one or multiple day stay. There is a permanent staff of Itaipu’s employees living in Itabo that have a thorough knowledge of the place and can help you discover its secrets.
It even has four comfortable guest houses to lodge in and sleeping barracks prepared for receiving large groups of visitors. There’s a small reunion and conference room too! If you would like to camp in a remote sector of the reserve, far away from any vestiges of civilization there is a patch of green opened in the middle of the jungle some 4 km (2,5 miles) away from the main administrative and recreational facilities. The Itabo Reserve is located some 60 km (37 miles) from Ciudad del Este. You have to drive through 38 km (24 miles) of stone-paved and dirt roads to reach the place. This journey is a pleasure to the eyes! This part of Paraguay’s countryside is so beautiful!
A caveat on these two places to visit in Paraguay. It’s important letting Itaipu’s authorities know exactly what you want to do in Itabo and Tati Yupi to get the necessary authorizations and, most importantly, the help you will need. For instance, if you pretend to do birdwatching you may get help from an expert ornithologist. Itaipu does permanent scientific research on its protected areas and has a wealth of scientific data at your disposal. If you are coming here with a group of students for educational purposes Itaipu’s specialized personnel on environmental education can be of great help. There are professionals specialized on birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles and botanists working for Itaipu that can be of help. How to get your entrance permit to Tati Yupi or Itabo? How do you get to these places to visit in Paraguay? Have any further questions? Please contact us using the following form and we will be pleased to help you. Please rest assured your e-mail will be used exclusively to answer your requirements. So that’s it for the moment on places to visit in Paraguay! If you are considering visiting these places while you are visiting Iguassu Falls it would be wise to lodge in Ciudad del Este. If you haven’t read our hotels recommendations yet please move from
places to visit in Paraguay to our Iguassu Falls Hotels page.
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