Concepcion

Concepción was founded in 1773 as a northern outpost and grew in the nineteenth century as the port through which the cattle, hides, timber and yerba mate of the north moved down the river, which paid for the arcaded commercial buildings, warehouses and merchant houses that still line the streets near the waterfront, most of them now faded and some derelict. It remains the departure point for the riverboats that work north to Fuerte Olimpo and Bahía Negra, several days upriver, which is the main reason travellers come. The market, the cathedral and the riverfront fill a day. Horse carts still work in the streets alongside vehicles.

What you actually see

• The old commercial buildings - the arcaded nineteenth-century streets.
• The riverfront - the port and the boats working north.
• The market - the town's produce and goods market.
• Horse carts - the animal transport still used in the streets.

When to go

May to September in the cooler dry season; summer in the north is very hot. Riverboats north run on irregular schedules that need checking in person. The town is quiet year round.

Honest expectations

Many of the historic buildings are derelict. Riverboat schedules are irregular and confirmed only locally. Accommodation and services are modest. Heat outside the cooler months is heavy.

Nearby

Vallemi lies north; Bahia Negra is far up the river.