Paraguay, the tourist trail largely bypasses this small subtropical country, landlocked in the heart of South America, and therein lies much of Paraguay's charm. Travellers who visit with an open heart and mind are rewarded with unspoilt natural beauty, an abundance of wildlife and some of the friendliest and most unaffected people in the world. Conversing in a blend of Spanish and Guarani that epitomises the country's unique cultural interweaving, the Paraguayans are most certainly the highlights of this Paraiso Perdido (Paradise Lost).

Best time to visit

May to September or before 1865 when Paraguay lost over a quarter of its national territory in the disastrous war of the triple alliance.

Essential experiences

Surviving a squashed ride in one of Asuncion's wooden-floored buses; catching a game of football; exploring the vast thorny wilderness of the Chaco - host to exotic and endangered animals and birds; heading up the Rio Paraguay on a local passenger boat.

In a few words, Paraguay is: Jaguars in the jungle, dictators, duty-free electronic goods, handicrafts, red dirt roads, corruption and contraband.

Did you know?

Paraguay is known as South America's ‘empty quarter', a country that little is known about, even to its neighbours and a group of Australians tried to set up Utopia in Paraguay in a place now known as Nuevo Australia.