Paraguay: holidays, events, climate
Public holidays
Religious Holidays
For the rural population of Paraguay, the numerous processions and fiestas that are celebrated for religious reasons are often the only interruption in their busy life. To witness a procession in which the carved wooden Mother of God or the painted image of a patron saint is carried through the streets is a solemn event. Such processions are sometimes accompanied by a brass band. Two of the outstanding festivals in Paraguay are December 8th and St. John’s Eve, which is celebrated in town and country from June 23rd to 24th.
Every year on December 8th, hundreds of thousands of local pilgrims from all parts of the country meet in the pilgrimage site of Caacupé to pay homage to the miraculous Mother Mary in a never-ending light procession. The streets leading to the pilgrimage site are full of pilgrims days beforehand (Vaacupé is about 55 km. East of Ascunión).
During Midsummer Eve, when the Midsummer bonfire has burned down, men and women run barefoot over the glowing coals in a kind of trance. The spectacle is accompanied by drums.
Date | Holiday |
March April | Good Friday and Easter (sometimes Maundy Thursday) |
December 8 | Mary Conception |
25 December | Christmas (sometimes also Christmas Eve) |
State Holidays
Date | Holiday |
January 1 | New Year |
1st March | Day of the Battle of Cerro Corá |
1st of May | Labor Day |
May 15 | Declaration of Independence |
June 12 | Peace Day of the Gran Chaco |
15th of August | Establishment of Asunción |
Sept. 29 | Day of the Battle of Boquerón |
December 31 | New Year’s Eve |
Source: Countryaah – Paraguay Holidays
Cultural events/festivals
- February: San Blás Fiestas.
- April: Semana Santa.
- May: Día de la Independencia
- June: Verbena de San
- July: Nanduti Festival in Itaugua.
- August: Día de la Virgen de la Asunción (Day of the Virgin of Asunción).
- September: Festival de la Alfalfa, Sapucai.
- October: Encuentro Internacional de Coros in Encarnación. (Choir festival)
- November: Festival del Poyvi (handicrafts) in Carapeguá.
Paraguay: climate
Travel times
The best time to travel to Paraguay are March, April, October and November. It should be noted, however, that the country is in the tropics.
Climate table
The following table shows a range of climate data for the country. It should be noted, however, that the climatic conditions in different regions of the country can differ considerably from one another and thus also from the values shown. The table therefore only provides a general overview of the country’s climate.
Month | Average number of rainy days | Maximum temperatures in (°C) | Minimum temperatures in (°C) |
January | 07-08 | 42 | 17 |
February | 06 – 07 | 41 | 16 |
March | 06 – 07 | 40 | 16 |
April | 06 – 07 | 36 | 112 |
May | 06 – 07 | 33 | 11 |
June | 06 – 07 | 32 | 12 |
July | 05 – 06 | 33 | 12 |
August | 04 – 05 | 38 | 13 |
September | 07-08 | 39 | 15 |
October | 07-08 | 40 | 16 |
November | 07-08 | 40 | 16 |
December | 06 – 07 | 41 | 16 |
Paraguay: Sightseeing
- Abbreviationfinder.org: Presents the way that PY stands for the nation of Paraguay as a two-letter acronym.
Unesco world heritage site
Jesuit Missions La Santisima Trinidad de Paraná and Jesus de Tavarangue
The heritage sites include the following four Jesuit missions of the Guaraní: San Ignacio Mini, Santa Ana, Nuestra Señora de Loreto, Santa Maria Mayor
The Jesuit Reductions are settlements established by Jesuits to protect against exploitation and enslavement of the Indian population in South America the Guaraní were built here. The reductions are in the south of Paraguay, in the south of the Chaco and in the Argentine province of Misiones
From 1610 the Jesuits created numerous reductions on the Paraná river – for example the reductions San Ignacio and Loreto. The Bandeiras, Portuguese slave hunters, attacked the reductions because the Indians there were better trained and you could therefore get a higher price for them on the slave markets.
About 60,000 Indians were abducted by the slave hunters. In 1641 the Indians were armed in the reductions and so the Indians were able to successfully repel an attack at Mboboré, after which they were spared for a long time. The encomienda system forbade Spanish colonists from entering the reductions, and the Guaraní were not allowed to be forced into forced labor.
The systems of the reductions are all designed in the same way: a church with a rectory, administration building, a meeting place and the surrounding houses of the Indians. In 1767, by order of the Spanish king, the reductions were lifted and the Jesuits were even persecuted.
In 1983, 1984, 1990 and 1993 the Jesuit reductions were entered one after the other on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites; they cross borders with Argentina and Brazil.
Cities, towns
Asunción
Asunción is the country’s metropolis on the east side of the Paraguay River. At the beginning of the 19th century, on the orders of the dictator Francia, the city was completely redesigned and provided with a manageable, checkered road network. Therefore, today Ascunión hardly has any buildings from the colonial times. With the exception of around two dozen high-rise buildings and the three to five storey high commercial buildings in the center of the capital, one and two storey residential buildings shape the image of the city. Since the streets are divided up like a chessboard, you can quickly find your way around the center and on the city maps.
Plaza de los Héros
In the center of the city center is the Plaza de los Héros with the Nacional de los HérosHeroes memorial. This building is architecturally based (but on a smaller scale) on the Invalides in Paris. Here are the graves of various presidents and war heroes.
Casa de la Independencia
The Casa de la Independencia is located near the Panteón. The conspirators against the Spanish crown met here in 1811 to end the centuries-old rule of the colonial rulers.
The Plaza Juan de Salazar is the city’s cathedral. It was completed in 1845. Right in front of the cathedral is a memorial to the first governor of Paraguay, Irala.
In the immediate vicinity of the church is also the archbishop’s museum, the Museo Arzobispal Monseñor Juan S. Bogarín. For fifty years he has been collecting relics, paintings and historically valuable objects of church art.
In the center of the city are still the seat of the Congress, the Palacio Legislativo and the government palace, the Palacio de Gobierno. The latter is modeled on the Louvre in Paris.
The Estación del Ferrocarrilis the oldest train station in South America. The Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes is located
near Plaza Uruguay. To the south of Ascunión is the Cerro Lambaré monument. At the top of the huge monument, a woman is breaking the chains of slavery. In the Jardin Botanivo, visitors can experience almost the entire biodiversity of the Paraguayan flora and fauna. In the center of the city the visitor will find in the streets Palma, Estrella and Olivia
numerous boutiques as well as department stores and department stores. Further shopping centers are located at the Mcal intersection. Lopez/ Argentina and on the exit road to the airport.
You should definitely visit the huge market Mercado Cuatro, where you can buy a lot very cheaply, you can also eat delicious fruits, vegetables, many types of meat – especially beef, of course – and buy a variety of clothes. Because of the cattle breeding, you can eat your fill of delicious meat dishes here.
The large bus station – Terminal de Autobus – is the hub for bus trips in the country as well as for long-distance trips to Chile or Brazil
San Bernardino
This city, which was founded by German settlers in 1881, is located on Lake Ypacarai and is one of the most important tourist centers for the local population. In addition, the town, which has around 5,000 residents, is the place of death of the anti-Semitic agitator Bernhard Förster, who was born in Germany and who married a sister of Friedrich Nietzsche and who emigrated to Paraguay in 1886. The place is about 40 km from Asunción.
Areguá
This popular seaside resort with around 11,000 residents is located on Lake Ypacarai. The place is the capital of the department “Central”
Special buildings
Panteón Nacional de los Héroes
This monument was built in 1863. Paraguayan war heroes have been laid out in this memorial since 1936.
Asunción Central Station Asunción
Central Station was inaugurated in 1861 and now also has a museum.
Government
Palace The government palace in Asunción impresses with its numerous style elements.
Tren Turístico Del Lago
The Tren Turístico Del Lago is
Museums
Museo Arzobispal Monseñor Juan S. Bogarín/Asunción
The city’s archbishop’s museum was named after Arzobispal Monseñor Juan S. Bogarín, who had collected paintings, ecclesiastical objects and relics for fifty years.
Museo del Estadio Defensores del Chaco/Asunción
The museum located in Paraguay’s largest football stadium, which was opened in 2006 and deals with Paraguayan football, is also very worth seeing.
Museo Godoi/Asunción
You should definitely visit this impressive museum in the Paraguayan capital.
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes/Asunción
The National Museum of Fine Arts mainly exhibits paintings from the 19th century.
Opera and theater
Churches
Catedral Metropolitana/Asunción
The foundation stone for the construction of this church was laid in the 17th century. The cathedral was kept strikingly simple and expanded in the 19th century. The altar is particularly worth seeing.
Iglesia de la Encarnación/Asunción
This church is hidden between Alberdi and 14 de Mayo. It is located on one of Asunción’s busiest streets and replaced a previous building that was destroyed in a fire in 1863.
Iglesia de la Trinidad/Asunción
The Church of the Trinity was constructed under Carlos Antonio López. It is also the place where the former President of Paraguay is buried.
Basilica San Francisco
The pilgrimage church Basilica San Francisco in the center of Caacupé was personally consecrated in 1988 by Pope John Paul II. The basilica is the largest church in Paraguay and is built in the neo-Romanesque style. The church is covered by a huge dome. Every year on December 8th, pilgrims come here for a candlelight procession in honor of Mary, the Mother of Jesus.
Franciscan Church in Jaguaron
The Franciscan Church in Jaguaron was built
Piribebuy
Church The Piribebuy Church
Feast of the Madonna de los Milagros
Every year on December 8th, the feast of the Madonna de los Milagros takes place in Caacupé.
In addition, believers from all over Paraguay and even from Argentina and Brazil come to Caacupé.
Important universities
Universidad Americana In
1994 this private university was established. It has branches not only in Asunción, but also in Ciudad del Este. About 4,000 students are currently enrolled at it.
Universidad Autónoma de Asunción
This private university was founded in 1978 as the “Escuela Superior de Administración de Empresas” and received university status in 1991. The five faculties currently offer around 5,000 students.
Universidad Católica Nuestra Señora de la Asunción
The city’s Catholic university is privately run and is divided into eight faculties. The small campus is close to the city’s cathedral.
Universidad Nacional de Asunción
This state university was opened in 1889. Today around 36,000 students are trained on it. The educational institution has a total of 12 faculties (departments).
Botanical Garden
Jardín Botánico
The Asunción Botanical Garden houses 3 museums in its area. The Museum of Natural History, the Museum of Indigenous People and the Museum of History.
natural beauties
Parque Nacional Ybycuí
This national park
Parque National Cerro Corá
The Cerro Corá National Park