Travel Guide Ayolas

Ayolas pays homage by name to one of the first conquistadors who came to explore the region, Juan de Ayolas. This city of about 20,000 inhabitants is home to the Yacyretá dam, the second largest hydroelectric dam in Paraguay after Itaipú, and the twentieth largest in the world. Its management is entrusted to the Binational Entity Yacyretá (EBY), an Argentinian-Paraguayan structure that is making billions, and can therefore finance a large part of Ayolas' infrastructure. A vast city, divided between a fairly recent part with wide avenues (Villa Permanente), fitted out to house the families of the engineers and civil servants who came for the work that began in 1983, and an old quarter with cobbled streets, San José Mí, which was originally the port of the Jesuit mission in Santiago. Ayolas is famous for its fishy waters, which attract many Argentine and Brazilian tourists, especially in the high season, September-October. Non-fishermen can enjoy a beautiful sandy beach on the river, and of course visit the Yacyretá dam and its museum, as well as the Atinguý wildlife refuge, located 18 kilometres from Ayolas (no public transport), where you can discover many local species. The main festivity takes place in September, with the Festival del Arary, a folklore festival created in 1999, on the occasion of the centenary of the city, where national and Argentine music and dance groups are invited. The arary ("agua del cielo", in Guarani) is an endangered indigenous tree that has become the symbol of the city.