About this book

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.

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About the Author

Margaret Hebblethwaite began her writing career as a theologian and is the author of ten religious books in the areas of feminist theology, spirituality and Latin American liberation theology. She worked as assistant editor on The Tablet from 1991 to 2000, when she gav eup her job to pursue her interest in Latin American liberation theology, by moving to a poor campesino community in South America. She lived in Santa María de Fe, Misiones, from 2000to 2019, where her time was consumed by working for a number of community projects. She founded the charity Santa Maria Education Fund (santamariadefe.org); worked with the sewing co-operative Taller de Hermandad (santamariadefe.com) to help them with their marketing; and founded the Santa María Hotel (santamariahotel.org) as a community project, with all profits going to the local people. She still has a house in Santa María de Fe and returns regularly.

Caitlin and Huw Hennessy are seasoned travel writers specialising in Latin America, but with worldwide travel experience, from Iceland to Auckland, Jamestown to Queenstown, Belfast to Bangkok. Both Modern Language graduates from the University of London, they first caught the travel bug as tour leaders for Journey Latin America, London-based adventure tour operators. Between running tours, they began to help update the (Footprint) South American Handbook. Travel writing soon took over from tour leading and now they have accumulated more years than they care to count, editing, writing and updating numerous guidebooks. Their most recent publications for Bradt include updating the St Helena and Mozambique guides, as well as writing three cycling guides to the UK (Cornwall, East Anglia and Northumbria). They have also written for various magazines and newspapers, including Wanderlust, Songlines, The Independent and the Times Educational Supplement. At home in Devon, they keep fit walking the Tamara Way (following the River Tamar up to Bude) and recently completed the Southwest Coast Path – after seven years! Kate is also an accomplished artist, with an MA in Fine Arts from Plymouth University, while Huw balances his freelance writing with cycling the back lanes and MTB trails.

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