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Travel and Tourism in Paraguay
Travel alerts, currency, climate, transit, health, and safety information for visitors to Paraguay.
Practical Information
Travel alert status, currency, climate, and transit details.
- Travel Alert Status
- Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions
- Time Difference
- UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
- Currency
- guarani (PYG)
- Climate
- Paraguay's climate is seasonal and subject to abrupt changes. It is subtropical, with summer and winter seasons opposite those in the United States. Winds are generally moderate, but high winds accompanied by thunder and electrical storms are common, especially in summer. The long, hot summer lasts from October through March, with January average maximum temperature 91ºF and mean temperature 81øF. Severe hot spells with very high humidity are common. Temperatures often exceed 100ºF during the day from December to February (the official record high temperature is 109ºF), with little relief at night. Winter extends from June through August. Cold snaps of 4 or 5 days with temperatures in the low 40s and high 30s are interspersed with several days in the upper 70s and low 80s. Frosts occur rarely. The official record low in Asuncion is 32ºF, although the damp air make it seem much colder. With frequent and abrupt changes, from winter to summer-like weather and back again (temperature changes of 20ºF-50ºF are common), Relative humidity ranges between 67% and 78% (monthly averages) year round and is particularly high in summer. Asuncion's average 59-inch annual rainfall is well distributed seasonally. Slightly greater amounts fall in hotter months. Torrential rains cause annual floods in riverside communities. The Chaco, which receives little rainfall, becomes semiarid in its westernmost reaches. During rainy periods, however, water covers large areas due to the impermeable clay subsoil.
- Ethnic Groups
- mestizo (mixed Spanish and Amerindian) 95%
- National Holiday
- Independence Day, 14-15 May (1811) (observed 15 May); 14 May is celebrated as Flag Day
- Geographic Coordinates
- 23 00 S, 58 00 W
- Location
- Central South America, northeast of Argentina, southwest of Brazil
- Airports
- 880
Destinations
Regions and cities, top sights, national parks, UNESCO sites, and festivals for visitors.
Defensores del Chaco National Park
The Parque Nacional Defensores del Chaco is Paraguay's largest national park and one of the largest protected areas in South America, covering approximately 720,000 hectares in the northwestern corner of the country. The park protects a vast expanse of dry Chaco forest, palm savannas, and salt flats, and it serves as one of the most important refuges for the jaguar, puma, giant anteater, tapir, and other large mammals in the region. The Cerro Leon, a low rocky hill that rises to approximately 600 meters above the surrounding plains, is the highest point in the Paraguayan Chaco and provides panoramic views over an almost unimaginably vast landscape of thorn forest stretching to the horizon in every direction.
Access to Defensores del Chaco is challenging, requiring a four-wheel-drive vehicle and preparedness for extreme heat, limited water, and rudimentary facilities. The drive from Asuncion to the park entrance takes approximately seven to eight hours in dry conditions. Despite these challenges, the park offers extraordinary wildlife viewing opportunities and a sense of wilderness solitude that is increasingly rare in the modern world.
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Health and Safety
Medical facilities, vaccinations, disease risk, and sanitation conditions.
Adequate medical facilities, prescription and over-the-counter medications, supplies, and services are available in Asuncion. Elsewhere these are limited, and in rural areas may not exist.
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