Yapeyú

Yapeyú was founded in 1626 as one of the thirty Jesuit-Guaraní missions of the region, and at its height it was among the largest, with thousands of Guaraní inhabitants, workshops, cattle estancias and a church. After the Jesuits were expelled the mission declined and was largely destroyed, but its worked stone survives across the village: blocks reused in walls and houses, foundations under the grass, and a small site museum displaying carvings, tools and ceramics. Yapeyú is also the birthplace of José de San Martín, and a colonnaded memorial shelters the remains of the house where he was born in 1778, with a museum alongside. The village itself is a grid of orange trees and low houses beside the Uruguay river.

What you actually see

• The mission stonework - carved blocks and foundations scattered through the village.
• The site museum - Jesuit-Guaraní carvings, tools and ceramics.
• The San Martín memorial - the colonnaded structure sheltering his birthplace.
• The riverside - the Uruguay river beach and camping area.

When to go

April to October, when the heat is manageable; summer here is very hot and humid. The village is quiet year-round except around national commemorations in February and August, which bring visitors and ceremonies.

Honest expectations

Little of the mission stands, so the visit rewards imagination and the museum more than the ruins themselves. The village is small with limited services. Interpretation is in Spanish and modest in scope.

Nearby

Paso de los Libres lies south; the Iberá wetlands are inland to the northwest.