I Traveled 155 Miles To Take This Picture

If you’re ever in Brazil and want to visit an interesting city that’s off the beaten path, check out Foz do Iguacu. Foz is part of the “Triple Frontier” and borders Argentina and Paraguay.

The city has some really cool attractions. There’s “Iguacu Falls,” a massive waterfall that is actually one of the "New Natural Seven Wonders of the World." You can also take a tour of the Itaipu Dam, the second largest hydroelectric plant in the world. And, the city itself is really nice and surrounded by nature (fun fact: I film most of my monkey videos in Foz).

A while ago, I was visiting Foz and realized something. I’d seen Capybaras all over Brazil and I’d seen capys in northern Argentina, but I’d never seen a Capybara in Paraguay.

So, I decided to look for Capybaras in Paraguay.

And it was surprisingly difficult…

Going from Foz to the Paraguyan city of Ciudad del Este is super easy. “Barely an inconvenience," as one popular YouTuber might say. The two cities are connected by a bridge and you can just walk across.

However, Ciudad del Este did not have any Capybaras. At least none that I could find.

And the nearest city I knew I could see capys in was Villarrica, about 150 miles away…

The bus from Ciudad del Este to Villarrica was surprisingly nice and there weren’t many other passengers. Paraguay has twice as many cows as people. So, our trip was a pleasant ride through the Paraguayan countryside. 150 miles of rolling hills and grazing livestock. Relaxing stuff.

For a small town in a small country, Villarrica is incredibly nice. It also has an interesting history of being one of Paraguay’s major cultural centers.

Here’s a picture from the “Heroes Square“ downtown.

However, the main attraction was Ortiz Guerrero Park, which is home to ducks, geese, and Capybara.

You can see one of the park’s cute capys below.

If you’re ever visiting Paraguay, I would recommend a day trip to Villarrica. It’s a nice little town about equal distance from Asuncion and Ciudad del Este. And, Villarrica’s Ortiz Guerrero Park is located in the city center, making it easy to see Capybaras.

P.S. Want to see a video of another capy-seeking adventure? Last year I hiked 36 miles through the Ibera National Park in Argentina. Here’s what I saw.