Things to See in Paraguay

High on a hill, Trinidad is Paraguay's best-preserved Jesuit reducción (settlement) where native people were concentrated for religious instruction, education and protection. Stunning and peaceful, it has been a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1993.

Jesús is the nearly complete construction of a Jesuit mission, interrupted by the Jesuit's expulsion in 1767.

Defensores del Chaco is a wooded alluvial plain; Cerro León is its greatest landmark. The dense thorn forest harbors large cats such as jaguars, pumas and ocelots. To avoid being eaten, explore the park as part of a guided tour, which is best arranged from Asunción.

This popular national park preserves some of eastern Paraguay's last remaining subtropical rainforest. Its steep hills, dissected by creeks with attractive waterfalls and pools, reach 400m (1312ft). The dense forest makes it hard to see the animals, which tend to hide, with the exception of stunningly colorful butterflies like the huge metallic blue morpho.