Paraguay

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Flag of Paraguay Paraguay
Information
Language: Spanish, Guaraní
Capital: Asunción
Population: 6,158,000
Currency: Guaraní (PYG)
Hitchability: <rating country='py' />
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<map lat='-23.5' lng='-58.5' zoom='5' view='0' country='Paraguay'/>


Paraguay is a country in South America. Hichhiking is a concept known in Paraguay and fairly common in rural areas. It's harder to hitchhike on main roads as bus companies serve those; there are fewer private cars than in Argentina or Chile. In the western Gran Chaco, waiting times can be very long as there is little traffic; especially between Filadelfia and the Bolivian border. Between Filadelfia and Asunción, there's more traffic, but still not very much.

The western and the eastern parts are also very different if it comes to the population and their reaction to foreigners. In the East, where 95% of the people live, mainly descendants of the Guarani people with a bit of typical Latin American influences, as a foreigner or "gringo", you're likely to arouse a good bit of curiosity, and if you speak Spanish or even a few bits of Guarani, you'll quickly get a good rapport with the people who are among the friendliest and most hospitable in South America. In the West, however, there is a mix from poor workers from the East, and rich German Mennonites, who could be compared to rural US Americans - friendly, but quite conservative.

Cities

Border Crossings

To/From Brazil

User MOAH hitchhiked over the Guaíra/Salto del Guaíra border to Paraguay, but as it is a major shopping area for Brazilians to buy cheap Chinese products in the noman's land, you won't get a stamp at the actual border. Instead, you have to go to the office of the Brazilian Policia Federal in Guaíra town, at the roundabout (Address: Praça Castelo Branco, s/n - Centro, Guaíra - PR, 85980-000, Brazil. Telephone: +55 44 3642-9100), which has super irregular opening times. If you press the bell, someone might open the gate and you can start the check-out process. The people here speak good English (!!!). From there it's a short walk to the 3600m bridge crossing from Paraná state to Mato Grosso state, where there's a semi-functional police control from where one can hitch the 12km to the actual Paraguayan border. A sign saying "PY" will do the trick. The noman's land is about 6km long, but you can catch a ride in between with friendly Paraguayans to Salto del Guaíra, where you again have to find some office to get your check-in stamp. This is a tiny shitty office with a well-hidden "Migracion" sign located on Avenida Bernardino Caballero c/ La Paz, Ciudad de Salto del Guairá (Telephone: (595) 046 - 243 536) with a permanently bored employee who will ask you how long you'll stay. Again, there's very irregular opening times, so you might have to stay the night to get your stamp. Don't cross this border on a Sunday. Enjoy the amazing kebab-like streetfood (about €0.90) on the Paraguayan side!

To/From Bolivia

The Gran Chaco area in Paraguay is the most direct route to go to Bolivia, but many people take the route through Argentina due to bad road conditions. If you're hitching the "Ruta Transchaco" from the capital Asuncion, it's best to get out of the city with a short distance bus (~2.500 Guaranies = €0.30) called "La Chaqueña" which ends in the town Benjamin Aceval/Cerrito where there's a toll port with some shadow and a few shops to buy water, cigarettes and snacks. You're currently more than 700km from the border to Bolivia and it will be a minimum of three days hitchhiking through sparsely populated areas that get really hot. You can still turn back and go straight before the bridge to Asuncion to cross the border to Argentina.


User MOAH hitchhiked over