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.
A city soon began to take shape around the fort. From here many explorer in turn left to establish a number of other cities. These include Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina and Santa Cruz de Sierra in Bolivia. Asuncion is thus one of the oldest cities in South America and one that can rightly claim to be the “mother of cities”.
The city is situated on the banks of the river Paraguay. The old city overlooks the Bay of Asuncion, a natural harbor from where many boats leave to destinations as far away as 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.
Staying at the atmospheric old Hotel Armele is an experience in itself. You will have a view across the harbor and the Bay of Asuncion from most rooms. The evergreen Chaco on the other side of the river stretches as far as the eye can see.
South Americans have a passion for music – and at night Asuncion comes alive with many music venues where you can listen to live music. Traditional Paraguayan music is very popular – as is modern English and Spanish rock. The city also has a large variety of restaurants to cater for every taste.
In the eastern part of Asuncion you will find Villa Morra – an upmarket neighborhood with fancy shopping malls and large Spanish villas. All the malls have food courts with a variety of local and international food available. Multi-screen cinemas are the order of the day. This is also where you will find the modern concert hall established by the Paraguayan National Bank with regular classical music concerts.
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.
Next time you are looking for a place to explore and be intrigued by, look for Destination guides: Asuncion. If she doesn’t do it for you, then nothing will.
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