Visit the Chaco, Paraguay

In the north and west of Paraguay, the Chaco, South America’s largest dry forest, contains an extraordinary number of plant and bird species and is a special area of conservation.

Its wide plains, salt flats, swamps and savannahs are home to thousands of plant and cacti species and wildlife such as pumas, tapirs, flamingos, armadillos and jaguars. This biologically rich and sparsely populated land became the unlikely home to 20th century Mennonite settlers from Germany, Russia and Canada, fleeing social and religious persecution.

Renowned for their disciplined, hard-working ethic as well as their agricultural expertise, the Mennonites established their own farms, schools and churches in the Chaco in the 1920s. Today the 28,000-strong Mennonite community still speak their own old German dialect, and are the country’s largest milk producers.

One of the ways to best explore this area is to travel along the rivers on the M/S Paraguay cruise boat for a truly unique perspective.