Jardín Botánico y Zoológico de…: things to see in Paraguay

Diego Toledo · CC BY-SA 4.0

Asunción, the capital Asunción

Jardín Botánico y Zoológico de Asunción

Park

The capital's great green lung: woodland, a South American zoo and the country house of Carlos Antonio López.

in Asunción

Half a dayDuration

₲₲₲Budget or free

DirectionsSee on map

What it is

A vast park with century-old trees, dirt trails and the murmur of birds, on the banks of the Paraguay River. The zoo is home to around seventy species, mostly South American, including the taguá, a Chaco peccary that science first knew only from fossils. Carlos Antonio López's former country house, from the 1840s, is now a natural history museum. There's a medicinal plant nursery, picnic areas and plenty of room for kids. It's the classic Sunday outing for Asunción families.

What to see and do

A zoo with jaguar, puma, Chacoan peccary and native birds
Carlos Antonio López's country house and the natural history museum
A medicinal plant nursery with hundreds of species
Walks beneath trees more than a century old

Did you know…?

The López family's manor house is legally protected as a cultural asset and houses the natural history museum.

The taguá, or Chacoan peccary (Catagonus wagneri), the zoo's icon, was known only from fossils until it was found alive in the Chaco in the 1970s.

Nearby, the Museo Artigas Karai Guasu honors Uruguayan national hero José Gervasio Artigas, who spent his final years in exile in Paraguay.

History

The grounds were the country estate of Carlos Antonio López, president from 1842 to 1862. His descendants sold it in 1896, and in 1936 the State transferred it to the City of Asunción. The botanical garden and its zoo were laid out by German naturalists Carlos Fiebrig and Anna Gertz around 1919.

Tips

Admission: adults ₲11,000, children aged 4 to 12 ₲4,000; vehicles between ₲6,000 and ₲25,000 (rates published in 2024; check before you go).
Bring insect repellent, water and closed-toe shoes; there are mosquitoes in summer.
Mornings are the best time to see active animals and avoid the heat.

Daily, during daylight hours; the natural history museum from 8:00 to 16:00 (check before you go).

Best time: Mornings from April to October; in spring, when birds are most active.