Bella Vista Yerba Mate

Yerba mate is native to this region and was cultivated by the Guarani and then systematically by the Jesuits in the missions, and southern Itapua around Bella Vista is now the centre of Paraguayan production, declared the national capital of yerba mate. The plantations run in dark green rows across the red soil, the leaf is cut, flash-dried over fire in a sapecado, then dried more slowly, aged and milled, and estates around the town run tours through the whole sequence with tastings of terere, the cold infusion drunk from a guampa with iced water that is the national drink. Some estates are German-founded and combine the mate operation with accommodation.

What you actually see

• The plantations - the rows of yerba across the red soil.
• The sapecado - the flash-drying of the cut leaf over fire.
• The mills - the aging and grinding of the dried leaf.
• Terere tasting - the cold infusion drunk as it is across the country.

When to go

April to October is the harvest and processing season, when the mills are working and there is most to see; tours need arranging in advance. Summer is hot and the mills quieter.

Honest expectations

Estate tours must be arranged ahead rather than turned up to. Processing runs seasonally and outside it the mills are idle. The town itself is small with limited facilities. Roads to the estates are unsurfaced.

Nearby

Encarnacion lies west; the Jesuit missions are northwest.