Antigua estación de ferrocarril de Villarrica

With the railway's extension from Paraguarí to Villarrica in the 1880s, the city enjoyed an economic take-off as it was linked to Encarnación and so to Argentina. Although the train no longer runs, the old station and other period buildings remain, many of them unused, in the neighbourhood now called Estación. Since 2023 the old station grounds host the San Juan Ára festival, with traditional games such as Toro Kandil, paila jeheréi, yvyrasýi, sack races and pelota tatá, about 45 stalls of typical food (kavuré, mbeyú, chicharó trenzado, pastel mandi'o, batiburrillo) and the burning of Judas Kái. Outside the festival it is a railway-heritage stop for photos and for understanding how the train shaped Villarrica's development. According to Wikipedia's article on the railway, the first train reached Villarrica on 25 December 1889 (the city's article gives 1887 as the year the line was extended from Paraguarí).

The railway reached Villarrica in the 1880s and connected it to Encarnación. The Guaireño Shooting Club set up near the station in 1909. Since 2023 the grounds have again been used as the stage of the San Juan festival.