Laureles

Laureles is a town in southern Ñeembucú department, near the Paraná River. It was founded in 1790 by colonel Joaquín de Alós y Brú, governor of Paraguay from 1787 to 1796, as a strategic settlement amid land disputes between the Paraguayan governorship and the government of Corrientes over the Ñeembucú borderlands. The name comes from a spring (ykua) around which laurel trees had been planted — the settlement was first called Ykua Laureles. Its church, dedicated to the Virgen del Rosario, was built in 1791. Laureles retains a 19th-century provincial townscape and is known as a center of the department's cattle-ranching traditions, hosting an annual Fiesta de la Tradición y el Folklore. The climate is subtropical; the dry season (May–September) is the most comfortable time to visit.

By Plane

Nearest airport is Asunción (ASU), roughly 320 km to the north.

By Train

No passenger rail.

By Car / Road

Laureles is accessible via secondary roads from Pilar, the department capital, to the west. Road quality varies.

Walkable.

• Iglesia Virgen del Rosario – The town church, built in 1791.

• 19th-century townscape – Laureles retains a provincial townscape tied to the department's cattle-ranching traditions.

• Wetlands – The surrounding marshes and waterways near the Paraná River.

• Birdwatching – The wetlands are home to herons, storks, and other aquatic birds.

• Fiesta de la Tradición y el Folklore – An annual festival celebrating Ñeembucú's ranching and folk traditions.

• Pilar (west) – Ñeembucú capital.
• Villa Oliva – Riverside community.
• Cerrito – National park.