Referred to by locals as the "ruins of Trinidad," the Jesuit missions of La Santisima Trinidad de Paraná are remarkable for their artistic virtues as well as for being reminders of the Spanish history of Paraguay. As part of the missionary effort called the 'reducciones,' Trinidad was a miniature city-state where indigenous people were brought into contact with the Christian faith. Built in 1706, Trinidad was one of the last 'reducciones' to be built on the Parana River, and even after the decline of Jesuit influence in the region it continued to be an important meeting place. The site includes a church meeting house, a central plaza, a school and housing for the acolytes. Although it was eventually abandoned, Trinidad has withstood time and weather relatively well and is still mostly intact. Now Trinidad is a popular tourist attraction and national monument located near the city of Encarnación. It has been designated a World Heritage Site in Paraguay.
Iguazu Falls is a natural monument located on the border of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina. The semi-circular cusp of the falls stretches for over one and a half miles and is 260 feet high. Depending on where you stand, you can be enveloped in a 260-degree view of the falling water, which pours over the lip of the falls at a rate of 6,500 cubic meters per second. Having long been considered a sacred site by the local Guarani people, Iguazu Falls in now a major tourist destination, World Heritage Site and is considered one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.
Casa de la Independencia has seen some of the most important and exciting moments in Paraguayan history unfold under its roof. Long the meeting place of revolutionaries planning the May 1811 revolution, the Casa de la Independencia is now a national monument celebrating Paraguay's hard-fought independence from Spain. The whitewashed, colonial-era home built in 1774 stands in the middle of Asunción and is now the most visited historic site in the city.
