Caazapa

Caazapá was founded as a Franciscan reduction in 1607, and the church of the town keeps carved wooden work from the mission period along with the layout of the original plaza. Its best-known feature is the Ykua Bolaños, a spring on the edge of the town enclosed in stonework, which local legend attributes to Friar Luis Bolaños, said to have struck the ground to bring water during a drought; the spring runs continuously and is a place of local devotion. The town holds one of the more elaborate Holy Week observances in the country. The department around is farming country with the Tapyta private reserve protecting a block of Atlantic Forest to the south.

What you actually see

• The Franciscan church - the mission-period carving and the plaza.
• Ykua Bolanos - the enclosed spring and its legend.
• Holy Week observances - the town's Easter processions.
• The Tapyta reserve - the Atlantic Forest block to the south.

When to go

April to October in the cooler dry season; Holy Week is when the town's observances take place and it is at its busiest. The church keeps daytime hours with a midday closure.

Honest expectations

The town is small and half a day covers it. The church may be closed outside service times. The spring is a modest enclosed pool rather than a spectacle. Facilities are limited.

Nearby

Villarrica lies north; the Tapyta reserve is south.