El Chaco

El Chaco is a vast region that makes up the entire western portion of Paraguay. To some travelers the name might specifically bring to mind Defensores del Chaco National Park, but El Chaco actually extends across an enormous portion of the country. Once I traveled several hours west of Asuncion, the landscape became increasingly rural and remote, and by the time I reached Filadelfia I definitely felt like I had entered the Chaco. Photographed above is the entrance to Filadelfia, which was more prominent than I expected for such a remote town.

It’s probably hard to hear Filadelfia without thinking of Philadelphia in the United States. Filadelfia, Paraguay has an interesting history of its own though. Mennonites established settlements in this part of the Chaco during the early 20th century, and Filadelfia grew into one of the region’s most important communities. The photo above shows a German-language memorial in the heart of town, one of the reminders of the Mennonite heritage that remains an important part of Filadelfia’s identity.

Filadelfia is the biggest town for hours in almost every direction, but it still has the atmosphere of a small and isolated community. Looking at a map can be misleading because the streets form a large grid that makes the town appear much more developed than it feels while driving through it. There are plenty of open spaces between buildings, and traffic was certainly never a problem. Near the memorial I found a small collection of stores, including the pharmacy photographed below.

El Chaco very much seemed like Paraguay’s own Wild West. Western Paraguay is much drier and far more sparsely populated than the eastern part of the country, and the region is known for its ranches, intense summer heat, and enormous distances between communities. Around Filadelfia, much of the land has been converted into farms and ranches, but once you leave town there is very little infrastructure. Along the highway I found this interesting restaurant that had kept some vintage items from the region’s past.

One of the best places to learn about Filadelfia and the surrounding Chaco is the local museum. Unfortunately it was closed when I visited, so I was only able to explore the displays outside. Among them was the small historic locomotive photographed above and the old wagon below. Even without getting inside, the collection offered a glimpse into how transportation and settlement developed in this isolated part of Paraguay.

Now to the good stuff! While Filadelfia was interesting, my main reason for traveling into El Chaco was to experience its wilderness. One of the first things that caught my attention were these strange spiky trees that I began seeing around Filadelfia and continued to encounter farther into the Chaco. It’s difficult to tell from the photograph above, but this particular tree had an enormous hollow opening that looked large enough for one or two people to sit inside. The tree below appeared to be similar but was much smaller.

When I visited El Chaco it was just turning into summer, and locals in Asuncion warned me that it would be ridiculously hot. It was definitely hot, although at that point it wasn’t anything worse than a Virginia summer back home. I had originally wanted to travel all the way to Defensores del Chaco National Park, but Filadelfia was already several hours from Asuncion and still only part of the way there. Instead, I decided to explore some wilderness areas closer to Filadelfia. One of the best options was a group of salt lakes surrounded by hiking trails and known for birdwatching. The trails took me through thick, dry vegetation filled with prickly trees and plants that made me pay attention to where I was walking.

The terrain was an interesting mixture of low tropical vegetation and noticeably drier patches. Maybe I just got lucky, but I wasn’t bothered by mosquitoes during my hike. Most of the insects I noticed were things like dragonflies and a few small ant colonies, including the nest photographed below.

El Chaco has all kinds of wildlife, but this particular area was especially good for birdwatching. The forest wasn’t towering over me like the Amazon, yet the vegetation was still thick enough to make spotting birds surprisingly difficult. In fact, I started finding their nests before I managed to get good looks at the birds themselves.

During the hike I also came across what I initially thought might be one of the strangest flowers in the world. I later learned that it was a passion flower. They’re actually found in many parts of the world, including species native to Virginia where I’m from, but I don’t remember ever seeing one before this trip. Rare or not, it was still one of the most interesting plants I photographed in El Chaco.

Some people visit wilderness areas expecting animals to appear everywhere and end up disappointed when they don’t. I’ve never really had that problem. I’m happy simply being outdoors, and I understand that wild animals are usually doing their best not to be found. I had hoped to see a capybara while hiking here, and of course seeing a jaguar would have been incredible, but even people who spend years in the region can go without seeing one. I didn’t find a capybara, but I did come across muddy areas covered with animal tracks. Another animal with sharp claws had left the prints photographed below, although I was never able to figure out exactly what made them.

You can drive directly to the salt lakes, but I always prefer taking a hike when I can. After a couple of miles I arrived at Laguna Salada. Even from a distance I could see flocks of nervous birds gathered around parts of the lake. The slightest movement seemed to send them into the air even though I was far too distant to be much of a threat. The landscape around the lake was wide open and dry, with salty shores that looked completely different from the forest I had just hiked through.

As I got closer to the water, the first flock I could clearly identify were flamingos. Seeing them almost immediately made me assume they must be fairly common here, although this ended up being my only encounter with them. Once the flock took off they never returned, so maybe I was simply lucky enough to arrive at the right time.

I was the only person hiking around the lake and couldn’t see another soul in any direction. I basically had the entire place to myself. The wildlife seemed extremely skittish, which made photographing anything difficult. I was surprised to find a birdwatching tower beside the lake, and while walking toward it I came across the colorful lizard above and the smaller lizard below sitting on one of the rails.

Immediately after climbing the tower I disturbed a pair of parrots that had built their nests underneath the roof. Instead of flying away, they stayed in the nearby trees and made plenty of noise while waiting for me to leave. I wanted a photograph, so it turned into a contest to see who was more patient. After about 20 minutes they finally began trying to return to their nests while I was still there, which gave me the opportunity to get the photo above. The tiny bird below also stopped by while I was on the tower and seemed much less concerned about my presence.

From the tower I had several birds fly past, including the large stork above and the smaller bird below. I had really hoped to see some of El Chaco’s larger mammals, even if only from a distance, but this particular wildlife trip was clearly going to be about birds and lizards. Looking back, arriving around sunrise probably would have given me a better chance of seeing more animals.

I’m usually not the best at identifying birds, but by chance I had seen this same species just a few weeks earlier in Florida. At the time I mistakenly thought their pink color meant they were flamingos until someone corrected me and told me they were roseate spoonbills. So when I spotted them again in Paraguay, I was pretty proud of myself for instantly recognizing them this time.

After leaving the tower I returned to the shore and continued hiking along the lake. There were a few muddy sections, but they were easy enough to avoid. I never figured out the species of the pair of birds above, although I watched them feeding along the water’s edge and they weren’t nearly as shy as most of the other birds. The black skimmers below were a different story and took off before I had much chance to get close.

Finally, some of my favorite birds besides the flamingos were these stilts. By the end of the day, what I originally imagined as a general wildlife trip had turned into a great birdwatching adventure. I didn’t manage to see the capybaras, giant anteaters, or other large animals I had hoped for, but that’s also a good reason to return. Next time I’d like to travel much deeper into El Chaco and give myself more time to explore one of the wildest and most remote parts of Paraguay.