Paraguay - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 703

Itaipú Dam
Sited 20km north of Ciudad del Este,
ITAIPÚ (in Hernandarias 10km from CDE;
T 061 599 8040, W www.itaipu.gov.py)
was once referred to as one of the seven
wonders of the modern world. With a
maximum height of 195m and generating
up to 75,000GWh of energy per year (and
fulfilling 87 percent of Paraguay's energy
needs), it's still something to behold. Visits
are by guided tour only (daily on the hour
8am-5pm; free, passport required; 1hr
30min), with a short documentary shown
first. There are tours from the Brazilian
side where you can pay to see the inner
workings of the colossal 1km-long machine
room, which is fantastic, but as tours
from the Paraguay side are free, those on
a budget will be more than satisfied with
the enormous vistas outside. There are also
spectacular light shows on Friday and
Saturday nights at 7.30pm (free, but
reserve with passport details).
The project's backers had to invest heavily
in ecological damage limitation projects,
establishing several nature reserves as well
as the Centro Ambiental (Tues-Sun
8am-6pm; free), a few kilometres south of
the dam's entrance (back towards CDE)
and easily reached by taxi. It contains a
good museum about the Guaraní peoples,
as well as an excellent zoo by South
American standards, set up to house
animals rescued from the flooding. The
Dam also runs several nature reserves in
this area, but these are really only worth
looking into if you won't have time to
make it to Mbaracayú or San Rafael
(see box, p.691).
The Dam is easily accessed by public
transport ; simply jump on any bus marked
“Hernandarias” from the bus stands next to
the SENATUR office (Gs3000; 20min)
and get off at Km17 where you'll see the
entrance on your right. There is also a taxi
stand here for the return journey.

historic port town on the bank of the
Río Paraguay, Concepción is the main
trading centre in the northeast of the
country. It has a wealth of museums for
a town of its size and more recently it has
become popular with tourists as a centre
for rustic but picturesque river trips along
the Río Paraguay to the Paraguayan
Pantanal (see box, p.691).

WHAT TO SEE AND DO
Concepción is perhaps best known by
Paraguayans for its graceful Italianate and
Art Deco turn-of-the-twentieth-century
mansions , with Villa Heyn (set back from
C.A. López between Brasil and Otaño),
housing the regional government, arguably
the finest example. The bulk of the tourist
sights are in the centre, concentrated on
the main street Avenida Pinedo, which
runs north-south, with east-west streets
running from Pinedo to the river.
Presidente Franco goes from Pinedo to the
port and is mainly commercial, Mariscal
Estigarribia and Mariscal López run
parallel to the south of Franco, and have
three plazas between them, containing the
bulk of the museums and old buildings;
there are some old signs outside the
museums and important buildings with
a map of town to help orientate you. While
here, don't miss hanging out at the port at
sunset with a termo of tereré , watching
locals swimming in the river and the sun
setting over the Chaco.

8

The museums
The town's small but high-quality
museums are mostly only open in the
morning. The ones not to miss include
the Museo del Cuartel de Villa Real (Mcal.
Estigarribia, cnr C.A. López; Mon-Sat
8am-noon; free), with a motley collection
of historical artefacts (including the wheels
to Eliza Lynch's carriage) housed in a
refurbished part of the army barracks
dating back to the triple alliance war, and
a rather good contemporary art museum in
the delightful Art Deco Mansión Otaño
(Mcal. Estigarribia, cnr Cerro Corá;
Mon-Fri 8am-noon; free), which includes
a room dedicated to the art of Concepción-
born artist Carlos Colombino, who also
made the altarpiece in the Catedral.

CONCEPCIÓN
From CDE it's possible to catch a
connecting bus from transport hub
Coronel Oviedo up to CONCEPCIÓN ,
although it's a comfier journey from
Asunción. A cultured, peaceful and