Cities in Paraguay 🇵🇾 The A-Z Guide
Like most places in Latin America…
It’s either a love it or hate it type of spot.
I’ve got friends who took a trip to Paraguay and immediately decided to move there. Some still haven’t left, and we’re talking years on the ground.
Other broskis have booked a week or two in the country and vowed to never return.
Love. Hate.
Personally…
I’m a fan.
In the not so distant future, you may find me riding out my days on a farm in the Chaco. Dozen kids in tow. Wife(s). Dogs. Enough firepower to take down at least a half dozen Brazilian narcos at a time.
The Bolivian narcos are peaceful narcos. You don’t have to worry about them while in the Chaco.
But back to Paraguay as a whole, here’s what you’ll find in this lovely land:
Friendliest locals I’ve ever met
Territorial taxes
Easy permanent residency
True freedom
Unspoiled nature
Cute latinas
Bitcoin mining
Bolivian + Brazilian narcos crossing the “borders”
Outside of that, you’ll find a few cities worth exploring.
In the opinion of ye’ humble author, Asuncion is the only place to base up as a single guy in the whole damn country.
If you’ve got a family, then Encarnacion is quite peaceful and pretty. Slow as hell for single broskis, however.
But let’s dig a little deeper…
Cities in Paraguay 🇵🇾
In a landlocked country of 7+ million people, you won’t find many “big” cities.
Think about it…
There’s less people in all of Paraguay than in most capital cities in South America.
Bogota, Lima, Santiago, Buenos Aires, and Sao Paulo all have more people in said city than the whole country of Paraguay.
However…
Paraguay does have one “big” city:
Asuncion
Population: 2.7 million metro
Suggest Length of Stay: 1-6 months
The capital of this wonderful “backwater” South American country, I’m a big fan of living in Asuncion.
While the majority of it isn’t beautiful, there’s a few nice pockets – that offer every amenity you could imagine. High-rise apartments, rooftop pools, walkable neighborhoods.
Asuncion is also incredibly safe. You can stumble around at 4am drunk here and have no issues.
Pros:
Cheap as hell
Exceptionally safe
One great neighborhood, Villa Morra
Great shopping malls
Good weather year around
Insane nightlife
Great people
Hot women
Cons:
Medical care is terrible, if I had a serious injury in BJJ I would have to fly to Brasil
Outside of the nice areas, it is very third-world
Some stuff just doesn’t work how it should here
Not a ton of green space in the nice parts of the city
P.S: Will have a full city guide on Asuncion coming out to paid subscribers soon.
Ciudad del Este
Population: 550K metro
Suggest Length of Stay: 1-3 weeks MAX
The second largest city in Paraguay, but certainly not a “big” city. This mid-sized city on the border with Brazil is an interesting place.
You can cross into Brazil without showing your passport.
The street lights don’t turn on at night in the center of the city.
Contraband flows from Bolivia to Ciudad del Este to Brazil on a daily basis.
And of course, Brazilians flock to Ciudad del Este to buy electronics and other items, then bring them back into Brazil. To avoid the asinine Brazilian import taxes.
There’s some cool tourism here too — like Salto de Monday and the Itaipu Dam. Well worth coming for a few days to a week.
You could spend a few weeks here if you really wanted to, as the nightlife is solid and the women good looking. Oh, and there’s absolutely no other foreigners.
But it’s a small spot and there are better places to base up.
Pros:
Just has a weird vibe to it, unique place
Hot women
Tons of cool tourism to do around the city and in Brasil
Friendly locals of course
Cheap as hell
Surprisingly safe, even though it “feels” weird
Cons:
A lot of things don’t work how they should here
No street lights in the center at night
Spread out, no walkable neighborhoods
Can see everything in a week
P.S: Will have a full city guide on Ciudad del Este coming out to paid subscribers soon.
Encarnacion
Population: 250K metro
Suggest Length of Stay: 1-3 weeks MAX
Beyond laid back and incredibly safe.
This small city sits on the Parana River, which forms the border with Argentina.
Here you’ll find river beaches, females descendants of nazis, and a chill vibe. Fun place to unwind for a bit and enjoy some cool nature parks too.
However, life is slow here.
If you like big cities, you’ll hate this place. There’s a few bars in the city, a couple cute chicks, and all the tourism can be seen/done in an week or so.
Not a place to base up, unless you’re looking for a slow pace of life for the family.
Pros:
Beautiful nature parks
River beaches
Across the river from Argentina
Friendly locals
Good looking girls
Walkable center
Insanely safe
Cons:
Not a ton going on
Will get boring after a few weeks
Border crossing with Argentina takes forever
Concepción
Population: 75K metro
Suggest Length of Stay: 3 days to 2 weeks
Tiny city on the Paraguay River in the center of the country. Tons of random nature stuff to do, like a “homemade” zoo that lets you pet the monkeys.
Dirt roads common. Laid back beyond belief.
Honestly, it was cool as hell to visit here. But there’s no way I’d spend more than a week in the town.
As it’s really a town, not a city.
If you’re looking to live in a rural area in a third-world “backwater” that’s actually safe, this spot might be for you.
For most of us, 3+ days is enough here.
Pros:
True rural living in South America
Good people
Actually one decent club
Enough nature stuff to do for a few days around the city
Cons:
It’s just too small. Worth seeing for a few days, but not much else.
Pedro Juan Caballero
Population: 125K
Suggested length of stay: 3 days to a week
This city has a very “wild, wild west” feel to it.
Pedro Juan Caballero is a small city on the border of Brazil, with the Brazilian city Ponta Pora on the other side of the “border” — if you call it that.
See, you can legit just drive or walk across the street and be in Brazil from Pedro Juan Caballero. There is no immigration or passport control.
Seemingly, there’s also very few laws. The place felt lawless.
Contraband and drugs all over. Being smuggled from Bolivia through Paraguay to Brazil.
Insane hiking in the national park. Insane. Like truly. I thought I might die a few times while hiking Cerro Corá, as there’s tons of wildlife and no other humans around. Oh, and the trail is not marked whatsoever.
Hiking here is probably the best “tourism” Paraguay has to offer.
Story time…
When I was here a few years ago, the Brazilians at the local prison took over the prison from the inside. They beheaded dozens of people, after lighting them on fire while they were still alive. Then they proceeded to use their heads to play soccer with
Pros:
Incredible hiking
On the border with Brazil
Unique as hell
Cheap as hell
Cons:
Not a ton to do after you hike
City is ugly
One of the most dangerous cities in Paraguay
Paraguay 🇵🇾 Overall
This is not a country for everyone.
There are no beaches. There’s really no “I gotta do that shit” type of tourism at all.
As you can see, the cities are certainly lacking in a number of ways.
Unless you love getting off-the-beaten-path or you want to get a second passport, you can probably skip it.
Dating is better in Brazil and Colombia — for obvious reasons.
Lifestyle is better in Mexico or Panama, as both are far more convenient and modern than Paraguay.
But the people in Paraguay are the friendliest I’ve found – and any tourism you do, you’ll legit have the whole place to yourself.
Asuncion is probably the only “livable” city in the country, but for what it’s worth, I consider the capital to be a solid base city.
Te lo juro,
Jake Nomada