Cities · Ñeembucú · The Jesuit Missions and the South

Isla Umbú

Isla Umbú lies about 12 km from Pilar and has the feel of a village that time forgot: streets of natural grass, little traffic and more motorbikes, horses and carts than cars. It is known as the dairy basin of Ñeembucú, and its name refers to the ombú trees once common here and to the marshes that surround it like an island. The heart of the village is the church of San Atanasio, a colonial-style building with thick adobe walls, a roof of karanda'y palm, tacuarilla cane and tiles, a brick floor and a loft used as a choir. St Athanasius sits at the centre of the wooden main altar, and the national coat of arms is carved above the altarpiece next to a crucified Christ. Beside it stands the old cabildo, built of wood and cane woven with rawhide and mud, which served as an army barracks during the war and is now the Colonel Pedro Hermosa Historical Museum. The museum gathers everyday objects (a hollowed tajy trunk used as a water vessel, parish vestments, sewing machines, ballot boxes, coins), photos of Chaco War veterans and a room on the Triple Alliance War with weapon remains and cannonballs found in the rural districts of Tajy and Boquerón. Near the centre there is also a clear-water lagoon, Laguna Capilla, popular in summer.