Top Reasons to Go to Paraguay

Load Up on Lace: Few words in the language begin with the tilded ñ. A tablecloth or placemat worked in ñandutí fashion is sure to elicit admiration from the folks back home, as well as comments on its unusual name. Artisans craft the delicate spiderweb lacework out of silk or cotton to create Paraguay's signature souvenir.

Reel One In: Believe it or not, southwestern Paraguay is one of the world's foremost freshwater-fishing destinations, with a small handful of resorts catering to the anglers among you. Giant, fighting dorado and catfishlike surubí will test your talents.

Play Explorer: If you seek a less-trodden South American destination than Brazil's beaches or Peru's Machu Picchu, plant your flag in Paraguay. Hospitality is your reward for staking out a claim in this little-known country.

Go On a Mission: Southern Paraguay was the site of a string of colonial-era Jesuit missions where priests and the indigenous Guaraní lived and worked in perfect harmony side by side. The structures remain mostly well preserved, and are, fortuitously, laid out in a circuit, which makes for easy touring.