Paraguay - Paperback

by Margaret Hebblethwaite (Author)

Bradt's Paraguay was the first standalone guidebook to the country published internationally, and this new fourth edition remains the most detailed guide available. Covering the whole of this little-explored South American nation, it complements the best-known sights with off-the-beaten-track attractions well beyond the tourist trail, and throws in a cross-border excursion to adjacent Iguazú/Iguaçu Falls (one of the 'New 7 Wonders of Nature').

Sitting in the heart of South America, Paraguay takes the shape of a lopsided butterfly, its wings divided by the River Paraguay. Its western part is the Chaco - a wildlife-rich area of wetlands and arid woodland that reaches north to enter the famous Pantanal region. The eastern region is characterised by craft, music and campesino country life, with landscapes including savannahs and vestiges of Atlantic Forest.

The country is perfect for the adventurous traveller who likes to be immersed in local culture and natural landscapes. Nature and ecclesiastical tourism are both rewarding, travelling is inexpensive, music and dance are widely enjoyed (including during Encarnación's month-long carnival), and history centres on old Jesuit mission settlements. Then there are elements of intrigue: football is believed to have been invented in Paraguay's Jesuit missions during 1793; the Paraguayan harp is a world-renowned beautiful instrument; drinking tereré (an ice-cold infusion of yerba maté leaves and medicinal herbs) is a communal event; and Chaco salt lakes were actually open sea 60 million years ago.

Written by a long-term resident who leads an educational charity and founded a small hotel run for community profit, and thoroughly updated by two seasoned travel writers who have worked on scores of guidebooks, this new edition reflects recent changes in Paraguay. There is greater coverage of ecotourism destinations such as Yacyretá, Yabebyrý, Mbaracayú and Atinguý, while the capital Asunción features new sights including the Centro Cultural de España Juan de Salazar.
With everything from phone numbers of local keyholders to museums and churches to a map of how to reach remote waterfalls and advice on etiquette, Bradt's Paraguay offers all the background information required for a successful trip to this gem of a South American country.

Author Biography

On her first visit to Paraguay, in 1996, Margaret Hebblethwaite fell in love with Santa Maria de Fe, a small town in rural Misiones, which had originally been a Jesuit mission (or Reduction) for the indigenous Guaraní people. After four years waiting for her youngest child to grow up, she moved to the town in 2000 - initially for a year - to deepen her knowledge of Latin American communities to inform her work on liberation theology. She never left, setting up a local hotel (now run by the local community), founded a charity called the Santa Maria Education Fund, worked with a local sewing co-operative, taught English and written Bradt's Paraguay travel guide, which has run to four editions. She is also the author of ten religious books in the areas of feminist theology, spirituality and Latin American liberation theology.