Villa Florida
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Villa Florida

Villa Florida

Small Paraguayan town on the Río Tebicuary, known locally for dorado and surubí sport fishing.

Villa Florida is a small town on the Río Tebicuary, about 160km south of Asunción on the road to Encarnacion. It's known primarily for sport fishing — the river here is popular with dorado and surubí anglers, particularly between August and November. Several fishing lodges operate along the river and cater to fishing tourists from Asunción and abroad.

Outside fishing season the town sees little traffic and there's not much to detain a passing traveller, though the river scenery is pleasant enough for a lunch stop en route south.

Guide

Day Trips

San Miguel de las Misiones (15 km south) — a small town known for its loom-woven blankets and ponchos in coarse wool, a craft tradition that goes back to the Jesuit reductions. Several family workshops sell directly to visitors.

San Juan Bautista (20 km south) — the capital of the Misiones department, with a pleasant central plaza, a 19th-century church and a small museum on the Jesuit and post-Jesuit history of the region.

Santa María de Fe (35 km south-east) — one of the original Jesuit reduction towns, with a museum holding a remarkable collection of Guaraní-Jesuit baroque polychrome sculpture rescued from the mission church.

Trinidad and Jesús de Tavarangue (150 km south-east, near Encarnación) — the UNESCO-listed ruined Jesuit reductions are the major historical sight of southern Paraguay and a long but rewarding day trip.

Asunción (160 km north) — the capital, easily reachable by bus or car for a city day.

Guide

Getting There

Villa Florida sits on Ruta 1, the main paved highway between Asunción (160 km north) and Encarnación (about 200 km south). Long-distance buses on the Asunción–Encarnación service all stop in town; the journey from Asunción takes roughly two and a half hours.

By car, the drive south from Asunción is straightforward on Ruta 1 — paved the whole way, but watch for slow trucks and the occasional checkpoint. There is no airport in Villa Florida; the nearest is Silvio Pettirossi (ASU) in Asunción. Hire cars are widely available in Asunción for the drive down.

Guide

Things to Do

Villa Florida is essentially a one-river town. The Tebicuary River is the reason to stop — for sport fishing in season (August to November, dorado and surubí the main quarry), for the broad sandy beach that forms along the western bank in the dry months, or simply for the view from the Ruta 1 bridge. The November Festival del Pacú is the town's main annual event. Outside fishing season there is very little to do beyond a lunch stop on the way south.