EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

It's much cheaper to stay in ENCARNACIÓN than Posadas and just as convenient if visiting the missions on both sides of the river, but bear in mind that Paraguayan time is one hour behind that of Argentina. Although just one-third the size of Posadas, Encarnación is Paraguay's second-largest city. It's far from being a typical Paraguayan town, being in the centre of a region largely populated by European and Japanese immigrants and their descendants. Ukrainians and other Slavs have settled to the southwest around Fram, Germans to the northeast in the so-called Colonias Unidas (including Hohenau and Obligado) and Japanese to the west around La Paz and Pirapo. Unlike most other parts of the country, Spanish is heard far more than Guaraní, the national language, which is abandoned even by the migrant workers drawn from central Paraguay. For a glimpse of a more traditional Paraguay head 150km northwest to Yuty , a delightful village on the way to Villarica where ox-drawn carts are still more common than Toyota pick-up trucks.

There are still two parts to Encarnación (the old and the new) with the rail track being the rough dividing line. Avenida Estigarribia, the main commercial artery, extends through both parts of the city. However, the old city , on the slopes leading down to the river, is due to be flooded when the long-delayed Yacyretá dam is finally completed. For now, the area is one of decaying houses, public buildings and small stores selling inexpensive electronics, cameras (stock up with very cheap Fuji film) and other imports to Argentine tourists. The post office is near the river at Capellán Molas 377, at the intersection with Avenida Estigarribia; postage is around half Brazilian rates. The new city on the higher ground, centred around the Plaza Artigas, is where most of the better hotels and restaurants are found and where government offices, banks and businesses are gradually being relocated.