Before heading off to the colonies and forts, it's worth stopping here. CIGCHA's interpretive halls explain the history of the Chaco, its biodiversity and the Indigenous cultures who live there, in a bioclimatic building with solar panels surrounded by samu'u (the swollen-trunked bottle tree, palo borracho in Spanish). On the same grounds there's a tourist information desk run by SENATUR, Paraguay's national tourism office, which is handy for planning your route through the Central Chaco.

Its name refers to the Gran Chaco Americano, the great plain of dry forests, savannas and wetlands that Paraguay shares with Bolivia, Argentina and a small corner of Brazil. It was designed as a gateway to the Central Chaco for travelers arriving along the Transchaco.