Lake Ypacarai Tour

Locations: San Bernardino, Itaguá, Aregua

This day tour will take you to three villages on the Circuito de Oro near Lake Ypacarai.

Lake Ypacarai is internationally known because of the song “Recuerdos de Ypacarai” (Memories of Ypacarai), which has been performed and recorded by many singers, including Julio Iglesias. The lake is 14 miles long and 3 miles wide and is surrounded by three cities: Ypacarai, Aregua, and San Bernardino, the latter two being located on its shores.

Vacationers may enjoy the lake views and water activities such as boating and jet skiing, however swimming in the lake is not advised as the water is quite contaminated.

San Bernardino
San Bernardino, also called “Sanber" by locals, is a favorite summer vacation spot on the shores of Lake Ypacarai. It was founded around 1880 by German immigrants after the War of the Triple Alliance. Today, Sanber is very popular and crowded during the summer vacation months December until March. Appreciate the lake view, abundant vegetation, colonial architecture and large modern mansions.

• The historic Hotel del Lago opened its doors in 1888 on the banks of Lake Ypacarai lake and accommodated wealthy vacationing families, political and historical personalities of the intellectual world, and official visitors to the country. For many years it was abandoned, but with careful work was restored, respecting Unesco standards for cultural heritage, and reopened in 2006 as a Hotel-Museum & Cultural Center.
• Take a walk through Hotel del Lago’s  Ethno-botanical Park where you may see more than 200 native plants, 30 species of birds and 20 species of butterflies attracted by the plants that beautify the park.
• Casa Büttner exhibits objects of daily use by the first settlers of the summer village
• The Büttner family owned the first carpentry workshop, the first bus, the first car and the first ice factory; they were also in charge of the electric power service and in 1930 their house was the telephone switchboard of the town. The Büttner House still belongs to the German family and was recently (2015)  converted into a historical and cultural museum.
• Take a boat ride on Lake Ypacarai to fully appreciate the beauty of Lake Ypacarai and the landscapes along the banks. (Optional and weather permitting; $6 per person)
• Visit La Alemana, a German bakery, for delicious handmade pastries!

Itaguá
Itaguá is called “City of the Ñandutí”. 

• Visit shops in Itaguá that offer an incredible display of the variety of colors, sizes, designs and uses for ñanduti, including table and wall decorations, apparel, hats, earrings and more.
• Visit the home of an artisan who hand-weaves ñanduti and will provide a demonstration of the technique and skill required to create this popular craft.

Areguá
Areguá, known for its manufactured pottery crafts, street market, and galleries, was once a town where wealthy families from Asunción had their summer homes near Lake Ypacarai. The town has preserved the charming old train station, historical colonial houses, wide boulevards and cobblestone roads.

• Impressive view of Lake Ypacarai from the Franciscan Church
• El Cantaro school, a unique dome-oven shaped classroom made of recycled materials that offers free community art workshops
• El Cantaro Art Store features carefully selected hand-crafted contemporary, indigenous and popular art from throughout Paraguay, proceeds from the shop benefit El Cantaro community school.
• The craft market features a street lines with thousands of figurines, home and garden decorations; while most of the items are not to the tastes of foreigners, the craft market offers an impressive display of colors
• The Centro Cultural del Lago gallery features high quality hand-crafted artwork which have been personally selected by the owner Ysanne Gayet, a well-known and respected artist and intellectual.
• The historical train station is a relic from times past when the train brought people from Asuncion to enjoy the shores of Lake Ypacarai
• The park on the shores of Lake Ypacarai is a gathering place for visitors and locals to enjoy the view and relax in the shade.