Yhu

Yhú is a district in Caaguazú department, roughly 230 km from Asunción, and at about 534.7 km² the largest district by area in the department. Its name comes from Guaraní for "water source" (some accounts render it "black water"), referring to the Yhú stream on which the town sits. Officially it was founded in 1904 by Spanish captain Daniel García, though some accounts date settlement to 1877 and testimony suggests the site was already an established settlement before the War of the Triple Alliance (1864–1870) — Marshal Francisco Solano López is said to have sent roughly 2,021 people, mostly women, the elderly, and children, into confinement here as relatives of accused traitors. In 1906 Yhú became the capital of Paraguay's then-new "V department," predecessor to today's Caaguazú, encompassing Ajos, Carayaó, San Joaquín, and Caaguazú town. Today the district's economy centers on yerba mate, agriculture, and forestry, and together with neighboring Vaquería it is one of the department's largest cotton producers.

By Plane

Nearest airport is Silvio Pettirossi International Airport (ASU), to the west.

By Train

No passenger rail.

By Car / Road

Yhú is reached by road northeast of Coronel Oviedo.

The town center is small and walkable.

• Yhú stream – The waterway the town is named for and originally settled along.

• Coronel Oviedo – The Caaguazú departmental capital, to the southwest.
• San Joaquín – Neighboring rural district, home to the historic Jesuit church.
• Vaquería – The district that split off from Yhú in 1993.
• Caaguazú – Agricultural town giving the department its name.