Ten Towns Tour

Locations: Itaguá, Itá, Yaguarón, Paraguarí, Piribebuy, Caacupe, Atyra, Altos, San Bernardino, Luque

This tour is for those travelers that want to see as much as possible in a day.

This tour will still take you to the home workshops of local artisans, specialized craft shops, and cultural and historical sites. This trip requires 5-6 hours driving time, so you will need to choose which sites are of most interest and/or have approximately 30-45 in each town.

In addition to visit beautiful landscapes, historic churches and cultural landmarks, there will be and opportunity to shop for a variety of popular Paraguayan crafts in the region they were crafted: ñanduti; ceramics; woven ponchos, belts and purses; leather-goods; wood-carvings; and silver filigrana jewelry and decorations.

Itaguá
Itaguá is called “City of the Ñandutí”. 

• Visit shops in Itaguá that offer an incredible display of the variety of colors, sizes, designs and uses for ñanduti, including table and wall decorations, apparel, hats, earrings and more.

Itá
Itá means "stone" in Guarani and is known for its tradition of ceramic art. 

• Visit the home workshop and museum of a renown artist who has developed a new style of unique and attractive ceramics that has become extremely popular in recent years; she has won numerous national and international awards and commissions for her work.
• The San Blas culture center displays a variety of hand-crafted ceramics from a variety of artists.

Yaguarón
Yaguarón was officially founded in 1585 as a Franciscan Mission.

• Visit the Iglesia de San Buenaventura church, one of the most beautiful and valuable examples of Franciscan construction and art in Paraguay.  The Hispanic-Guaraní style of the carvings and the intricate paintings on the ceiling and carvings using natural dyes and gold laminate made by hand by the natives are highlights of this well-maintained church and artistic monument.

Paraguarí

• Optional snack at La Fruteria or try chipa, a chewy, cheesy bread that is part of the Paraguayan identity, from one of the vendors.
• Enjoy the scenic drive through the Cordillera region between Paraguarí and Piribebuy.

Piribebuy
The famous ponchos de 60 listas, thus-named because they have 60 white stripes, are only made in Piribebuy.  The ponchos and other items are made with fine thread and is a craft that requires time and skill; takes four people working full-time 10-12 days to weave each poncho.

• Visit to the home workshop of the charming and most experienced poncho weaver in the country.  Hear her stories about learning to weave at the age of seven, the fascinating history of this craft, and how her great-grandmother made the poncho that was worn by Mariscal Lopez in the mid-1800s.

Late lunch in Caacupe at the Churrasqueria (Brazilian steak-house which features complete buffet with a variety of hot meals and salads)

Caacupe
Caacupe is a center of worship for a large number of Paraguayan devotees. This city is well known for its important religious festival which is held on the eighth of December every year honoring the statue of Our Lady of the Miracles; each year more than 300,000 faithful gather here for the festival. 

• Walk up the stairs of the Cathedral to see the history of the statue, which was carved in the sixteenth century and withstood a huge flood, depicted in a series of murals along the tower corridors. From the rooftop viewing platform, observe the beautiful landscape that surrounds the Basilica.

Atyrá
Atyrá is known for being the "cleanest town in Paraguay) and for it's artisanal work in leather.

• Visit the Paseo Peatonal Indio Jose, a pedestrian walkway where a permanent exhibition of leather handicrafts (thermoses, mate guards, belts, wallets, backpacks, and a variety of other leather-goods) are on display and available for sale.

Altos
Altos was one of the first villages founded by the Spanish conquerors and has been an important Franciscan town of converted Indians.

• Visit the home workshop of a local woodcarver who carves soft, light weight balsa wood (timbó) into sculptures of birds, flowers, mythological creatures, saints, and masks made for the San Pedro & San Pablo festivals.
• Optional (one week advance notice required): Paint your own bird sculpture

San Bernardino
San Bernardino, also called Sanber by locals, is a favorite summer vacation spot on the shores of Lake Ypacari. It was founded around 1880 by German immigrants after the War of the Triple Alliance. Today, Sanber is very popular and crowded during the summer vacation months of December until March. 

• Enjoy the view of Lake Ypacarai from the pier and park on the shores of the lake.
• Visit the historic Hotel del Lago which opened its doors in 1888 on the banks of Lake Ypacarai and accommodated wealthy vacationing families, political and historical personalities of the intellectual world, and official visitors to the country. For many years it was abandoned, but with careful work was restored, respecting Unesco standards for cultural heritage, and reopened in 2006 as a Hotel-Museum & Cultural Center.
• Optional: Boat Ride on Lake Ypacarai (Advance reservations required; $6 per person)
• Optional: enjoy a merienda (afternoon snack) of delicious handmade pastries from La Alemana, a German bakery.

Luque
Luque is well-known for its hand-crafted silver and filigrana jewelry.

• Visit Avenida de los Joyeros (Jewelers Avenue), thus named because of the dozens of shops featuring silver and filligrana jewelry and other decorations.