The East: water, energy and borderlands Caaguazú

Caaguazú

City

The capital of wood: furniture workshops along the highway, the spring where the town was founded and the country's largest indoor arena.

180 km≈ 2 h from Asunción

Half a dayDuration

₲₲₲Budget or free

DirectionsSee on map

What it is

Caaguazú, "great forest" in Guaraní, was born in the middle of the woods and turned them into a trade: along the highway, one carpentry shop and furniture store follows another, selling solid-wood tables, chairs, doors and crafts. In the center, Ykua La Patria park shelters, beneath old trees, the spring by which the founders settled. The Immaculate Conception church sports a large mural on its façade, the work of an Argentine artist, and the Polideportivo Techado is the country's largest indoor arena.

What to see and do

Browse the furniture stores and woodworking shops along the highway
Stroll through Ykua La Patria park
See the mural on the Immaculate Conception church

Did you know…?

The name comes from the Guaraní ka'aguasu: ka'a (forest, or yerba mate) and guasu (large).

The Polideportivo Techado holds more than 7,000 people and bills itself as the country's only dome.

History

The town was founded on May 8, 1845, by eleven families from Guairá, who settled beside the spring known today as Ykua La Patria. From the early 1970s it established itself as the country's leading center for timber production and export.

Tips

If you're buying furniture, compare several workshops and agree on delivery in writing; it's usually charged separately.
The town's patron saint, the Immaculate Conception, is celebrated on December 8.

Best time: Year-round; December 8 is ideal for the patron-saint festival.