Villarrica

Villarrica was founded in 1570 and moved seven times before settling on its present site, and it grew into the cultural centre of the Guairá: a city of shaded plazas, a nineteenth-century cathedral, an old railway station on the closed Asuncion line, and a set of small museums including the Maestro Fermin Lopez and the diocesan collection. It has produced a disproportionate number of Paraguayan writers and musicians and holds a literary reputation because of it, and the university and the seminary contribute to a student population. The Ybytyruzu hills rise east of the city with the country's highest peak, and the German and Japanese colonies lie in the same direction.

What you actually see

• The plazas - the shaded squares at the centre of the city.
• The cathedral - the nineteenth-century church on the main plaza.
• The old station - the building from the closed Asuncion railway.
• The museums - the small municipal and diocesan collections.

When to go

April to October in the cooler dry season; summer is hot and humid. The city fiestas and the Guaira festivals fall through the year. Museums keep daytime hours with midday closures.

Honest expectations

The city is provincial and half a day covers the centre. Museums are small with Spanish labelling and irregular hours. The railway no longer runs. It works best as a base for the Ybytyruzu.

Nearby

Colonia Independencia lies east; Yataity is north.