Travel and Leisure - Blogwire

Truly an unexplored gem of South America, Paragauy is known by it’s neighbors to be “as mysterious as the Mona Lisa”. For some reason the city has not been discovered by mainstream tourists yet and it might even be hard to find destination guides for Paraguay at your local bookstore. More targeted resources, such as a destination guide for disabled travelers are even more difficult to find.

It is likely that the first European who visited the site where Asuncion was eventually founded was a certain Juan de Ayolas. He was looking for a passage to the mines of Bolivia, and traveled up the river Paraguay. Unfortunately he was killed by the Payagua on his return trip. Juan de Salazar was then dispatched to look for him (in vain). In August 1537 De Salazar visited the location of the present-day Asuncion and made the decision to found a fort there. He called it Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion.

It wasn’t long after the erection of the fort that word got out and it soon became an important base to explore from – both Bolivia’s Santa Cruz and Argentina’s Buenos Aires were founded by expeditions that left from Asuncion. Hence the name “the mother of cities”.

The old part of the city which contains the harbor is strategically perched on the bank of the Paraguay River. A natural bay permits small vessels to come and go to their various destinations, one of which is Brazil.

The old city around the harbor, including the main street (Avenida Palma), is a decaying old place with lots of charm and character. As you stroll past the many quaint artisan’s shops you start to feel it’s heartbeat and very quickly you will be intoxicated by the smells and sounds of Asuncion. Soon you will be offered chipa bread – which is famous in this part of the world. You will want to stop and explore the beautiful lace articles on display, like Nanduti spiderweb lace for which Paraguay is well known.

Asuncion has many stately old hotels like The Grand Armele and the Asuncion Palace, both situated downtown near the harbor. The Armele offers spectacular views looking across the bay and the river. The evergreen Chaco on the other side of the river stretches as far as the eye can see.

At night the city comes alive. South Americans love music and there are a large number of locales where you can listen to live bands playing everything from traditional Paraguayan music to rock. The city also has a large variety of restaurants to cater for every taste.

The eastern part of the city, especially Villa Morra, forms the new face of Asuncion. Here you will find numerous shopping malls with all the latest movies and international take-away restaurants. You will also find the modern and sophisticated concert hall built by the National Bank of Paraguay where the Asuncion symphony orchestra and other artists regularly perform.

Asuncion has hotels in all price ranges. The cheaper ones tend to center around Plaza Uruguay. There are several five star hotels in the vicinity of Plaza de los Heroes.

Destination guides for Asuncion are difficult to find. We recommend that you print this page and keep it for reference purposes.