7 Best Sights in Southern Paraguay, Paraguay

South America's great engineering marvel is the world's largest hydroelectric facility, and spans the Paraná river between Paraguay and Brazil. Construction on the dam, as tall as a 65-story building, was completed in 1984. The installation supplies 19% of Brazil's power needs and an astounding 91% of Paraguay's. Admission is free from the Paraguayan side. (The visitor center on Brazil's side charges for visits.) Take in an informative 90-minute tour and/or a spectacular sound-and-light show on weekend nights.

The town's restored 18th-century Iglesia de San Buenaventura was the centerpiece of Paraguay's post-Jesuit Franciscan missions. Inside, you'll find brightly colored wooden statues carved by Guaraní artists.

The Jesuits began construction of the hilltop church of Jesús del Tavarangue a mere eight years before their expulsion from the New World. Though never finished, this is the most distinctive of the region's mission churches. Moorish-style arches make up the building's three entrances and lead to what were to be three naves and three altars. Vegetation and earth have covered much of the nearby reducción community. Painstaking excavations are under way.

Follow the signs along a dirt track to the red sandstone mission buildings, currently in use as a Jesuit school. They once held an astronomical observatory. Many original houses are still in use.

The Museo de Arte Sacro, a small museum in the center of town, is devoted to religious art.

The Museo Jesuítico has some 70 Guaraní carvings and statues; the latter represent the life of Jesus. (The museum keeps no fixed hours; if the door is locked, you may have to ask around for the priest to let you in.)

The region's most impressive ruins, superior even to those of Argentina and Brazil, are at Trinidad. The red sandstone reducción, built between 1712 and 1764, stands on a hilltop, enabling its full size to be appreciated. After the expulsion of the Jesuits, much of it was destroyed by an unscrupulous local official who ripped out stones to build his own residence, causing the structure to collapse. Many of the church walls and arches remain intact, even though open to the elements. Note the elaborately carved doors and wall friezes depicting angels playing the clavichord, harp, and other musical instruments. The only building with a roof is the sacristy, with intricate relief work above the main entrance. Also surviving are the school and cloister foundations and a sandstone tower. Restoration is ongoing.