Travel Guide Atyrá

Atyrá is a quiet little town, you'll realize it if you spend a summer afternoon there: the cable sillas and hammocks in the gardens are all busy! Located in the hills of the Cordillera de los Altos, it is the "Ecological Capital of Paraguay". The locality has been considered by the World Health Organization as the 7th cleanest city in America and the 8th healthiest in the world! The city is undoubtedly still the cleanest and healthiest in Paraguay, thanks to a strong citizen culture from a very early age.The name Atyrá derives from Atyhá, "meeting place" in Guarani. It is in fact where the municipality is located today that the Guarani caciques used to gather, under seven large yvapovó, trees that provided plenty of shade and edible berries. On these indigenous lands, Domingo Martínez de Irala officially founded Atyrá in 1539. It is one of the oldest cities in Paraguay after Asunción. The San Francisco de Asís temple no longer exists, but sculptures of saints from the Franciscan period and a magnificent altarpiece from the 18th century have been preserved. Today, the city lives from agriculture, the coconut oil factory, but above all, from the artisanal work of leather, of which you can find beautiful articles in the pedestrian artisanal gallery, called Paseo Indio José.Coming from Asunción by Ruta 2, the deviation to Atyrá is at km 48, at the level of the Pilgrims' Cross. It is also easily reached by car from San Bernardino, Tobatí or Caacupé. Buses are frequent all day long to Atyrá from Asunción and Caacupé. They'll drop you off at the center.