Chaco Research and Conservation Center
Photo: Rodney Damián, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
A research center dedicated to the conservation of the peccary (known locally as taguá). You can see three different species of peccary up close. There is a guest house with dorm rooms and kitchen for visitors who want to stay for two or more days (booking is required). The center's location is ideal for nature enthusiasts and those who want to venture into the Chaco. You need to bring all your supplies with you as the nearest store is in Filadelfia. Just to the left of the center is Fortín Toledo, a historic site from the Chaco War, which is worth visiting.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
A historic site from the Chaco War (1932-35) where one of the major battles of the conflict took place between 26 February and 10 March 1933. Two cemeteries, one Paraguayan and one Bolivian, honor the over 1000 soldiers from both sides who died in combat during the battle.
school museum
The old school building which opened its doors in 1936. One part of the exhibit is about the elementary school depicting how life was in the first school to open its doors in the Chaco wilderness. Furniture from that time, books and other school materials, including blackboards and markers, are shown. Also pictures of the different schools in the nearby settlements, teachers list, and school statistics are available. Another exhibit presents technological development in the school throughout the years such as writing and typing machines, projectors, and a copy machine.
downtown park
A park built to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the colony. In the park there is a memorial to the hard times of the first settlers.
A very good museum spread over two buildings. The oldest building was built in 1933/34, shortly after the founding of the colony, and is one of the few remaining original administrative houses of the city and it was used for civil and religious ceremonies. It was converted into a museum in 1980 and named after Jakob Unger, a Mennonite specimen collector, who was the first of the pioneers to perform a scientific study of the fauna of the Chaco from 1950 to 1975. The first building is devoted to Mennonite history, and there are many artifacts from the original colonists including the printing press for the newspaper Mennoblatt, which is still published today. There is also a collection of relics from the Chaco War. Out front stands a large saw, the first machine in the community saw mill. In the second building is the natural history section, which houses an impressive collection of stuffed animals from the Chaco, including a jaguar, armadillo, coatí, puma, anteater, wolf, tapir, tree sloth, skunk and a boa constrictor. There are also 210 out of 250 bird species found in the area, and a large section devoted to insects. Items are well-labeled, so visiting the museum is an excellent way to learn about the region's fauna. The back room is dedicated to the various indigenous groups the predated the Mennonite's arrival to the Chaco and include utilitarian objects, textiles, feathered headdresses, handicrafts, weapons, and ceramics. The museum has a pleasant garden, the Plaza de los Recuerdos, with several examples of the quirky palo borracho tree. In the park there is also the First Monument erected in town, a small obelisk, placed in 1955, on the 25th anniversary of the foundation of the colony.