Caacupe Basilica

Caacupé holds the image of the Virgin of the Miracles, a small carved wooden Virgin that tradition says was made by a Guarani convert in thanks for deliverance and that has been venerated since the seventeenth century, and it is the religious centre of Paraguay. The present basilica, consecrated in 1980, is a large modern building with a domed roof and a wide plaza in front designed to hold crowds, because on 8 December, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, hundreds of thousands of people converge on the town, many walking from Asuncion overnight along the road. Outside that week the town is quiet and the basilica open with the image displayed above the altar.

What you actually see

• The Virgin of Caacupe - the small carved image above the high altar.
• The modern basilica - the domed building and its plaza.
• The December pilgrimage - the walk and the crowds on the eighth.
• The stalls - the religious goods and food sold around the plaza.

When to go

8 December for the pilgrimage, which is the reason to time a visit and when the town is entirely full; year round otherwise, when the basilica is quiet and easily seen. The walk from Asuncion runs overnight on the seventh.

Honest expectations

The basilica is a 1980s building rather than a colonial one. During the December feast the town is overwhelmed and movement is very difficult. Outside it there is little else in Caacupe. Stalls around the plaza are heavily commercial.

Nearby

Piribebuy lies southeast; Asuncion is west.