Parque Nacional Serranía San Luis
Limestone hills, cerrado and forest where blue and red macaws take flight.
What it is
A park for naturalists: more than 10,000 hectares of low ranges, limestone outcrops, forest and patches of cerrado (the wooded savanna of central Brazil) where greater rheas, large tinamous and two winged jewels live side by side: the gua'a hovy (hyacinth macaw) and the gua'a pytã (red-and-green macaw). The streams rising around it, such as the Tagatiyá, are famous for their clarity. This isn't a park designed for mass tourism: it has ranger houses and some infrastructure for researchers and visitors, but the road in from the Concepción-Vallemí highway is rough, and a visit calls for planning, a high-clearance vehicle and patience. In return: absolute silence, enormous skies and birds you won't see anywhere else in the country.
What to see and do
- Spotting hyacinth and red-and-green macaws at dawn
- Walks across limestone ranges and patches of cerrado
- Combining the visit with a swim in the Tagatiyá streams
Did you know…?
The gua'a hovy (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus) is the largest flying parrot in the world, and it's threatened.
It's one of the few corners of eastern Paraguay with cerrado, the wooded savanna of central Brazil.
History
It was created by Decree No. 11,964 of December 20, 1991, and covers some 10,273 hectares of the San Carlos del Apa district, between the Apa and Aquidabán rivers. It protects forests and cerrado patches of the Aquidabán ecoregion, with species such as the trébol (Amburana cearensis), now a threatened tree, and is a refuge for the hyacinth macaw and the red-and-green macaw (Ara chloropterus).
Tips
- Arrange your visit with MADES (the Directorate of Protected Wildlife Areas) before you go; there are no commercial tourist services.
- In the rain, the dirt road can become impassable without a 4x4.
- Bring water, food, insect repellent and binoculars; cell signal is patchy.
- Ask locally about road conditions and safety in the area.
Visits by prior arrangement with MADES; check before you go.
Best time: April to October, when the roads are dry; the early morning hours are best for birds. In summer, fierce heat and storms.
Activities
Festivals and events here
Nearby
San Alfredo · Concepción
Arroyos Tagatiyá
Turquoise water over a limestone bed: the 'Paraguayan Bonito', where you float among the fish.
Puerto Pinasco · Presidente Hayes
Puerto Pinasco
A former tannin port on the Paraguay River, where the idea for Friendship Day on July 30 was born.
San Carlos del Apa · Concepción
Parque Nacional Paso Bravo y San Carlos del Apa
More than 100,000 hectares of protected cerrado on the banks of the Apa River, on the border with Brazil.
Puerto Casado · Alto Paraguay
Puerto Casado (Puerto La Victoria)
A tannin town on the Paraguay River, with the old Carlos Casado factory and the railway that opened up the Chaco.
Vallemí · Concepción
Vallemí y sus cavernas
Paraguay's cement capital hides more than 50 limestone caves, with stalactites and macaw-filled forests.
Researched and reviewed in September 2026 with 4 sources. A second reviewer checked dates, coordinates and lodging. Hours and prices may change.