Chaco Biosphere Reserve Voyage Tips and guide

Chaco Biosphere Reserve is a protected natural area in the northwestern region of Paraguay. It is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and portions of it are Ramsar wetlands.

The biosphere reserve covers vast areas of dry subtropical forest and humid wetlands that are part of a greater regional ecosystem called the Gran Chaco, which includes western Paraguay, southern Bolivia, northwestern Argentina and parts of Brazil. It includes four of Paraguay's national parks, as well as areas designated as national monuments, wildlife preserves, or other protected areas. The biosphere reserve is completely within Paraguay, covering more than 4 million hectares. All of the area covered by the Wikivoyage region The Chaco is part of this biosphere reserve.

Within the territory of the biosphere reserve are four national parks:

• -20.156194-60.3041 Defensores del Chaco National Park.   -
• -23.6531-60.29642 Tinfunqué National Park.   -
• -20.1373-61.59123 Médanos del Chaco National Park.  -
• -21.0877-61.62994 Teniente Agripino Enciso National Park.  -

This is Paraguay's largest national park with an area of more than 720,000 hectares. The park was created as part of the Paraguay national parks system in 1975.

The park includes areas of dry tropical forest and semi-arid scrubland. Vegetation includes white quebracho, palo santo, samuù, low forests, thorn bushes, and various species of cactus. It is an excellent area for large mammals such as cats like the jaguar, puma, and jaguarundi, as well as various species of armadillos, monkeys, peccaries, and tapir.

Cerro Leon is a prominent geological feature. The hill is actually a series of hills covering about 40 km in diameter.

Questions about this park's status are unresolved and UNESCO does not regard it as a genuine national park because its land is not owned by the Paraguayan government, but rather by private individuals. It is one of the Chaco's most popular parks because of its impressive waterfalls and its biodiversity.

Tinfunqué (sometimes locally spelled Tinfunké) was established as part of the Paraguay national parks system in 1995 with an area of 280,000 hectares. The park is a Ramsar wetland of international importance.

Whereas much of the Chaco region is dry, with dry tropical forest and grassy savannas covering most of the area, Tifunque is wet and humid with frequently flooded grasslands when the Rio Pilcomayo floods. The wetlands near the river are home to animals such as ñandy, wild ducks, storks, chaja, aguara guazu, giant anteater, carpincho, and yacares, as well as grazing cattle from area ranches.

The park was created in 2003, covering a territory of more than 514,000 hectares.

The park was named for its "médanos", dunes with scrubby brush Dover where a population of guanacos live.

The park was created as part of the Paraguay national parks system in 1980 with an area of about 40,000 hectares.

The park has a dry climate with dry tropical forests that is mostly thick thorn brush. Typical trees include white quebracho, palo santo, and samu'u. Animal life includes cats like the yaguarte and a large population of peccaries.

The park includes historical trenches and fortifications from the Chaco War that can be visited on park tours.

There is a commercial airport in Bahia Negra with occasional service. The closest airport with good commercial service is in Asuncion.

The Chaco is a vast region with hundreds of miles of open grassland and clumps of woodland between destinations. The region is sparsely populated with mostly indigenous and a few Mennonite communities. Most are very small towns. The largest town in the reserve is Bahia Negra in the northeastern corner of Paraguay. Two other small towns in the center of the Chaco can be a good base for exploring the region: Filadelfia and Mariscal Estigarribia. Guides can likely be hired in these towns to take you into the national parks or other points of interest.

The Chaco lies to the northeast of Asuncion, from which you can take a bus to towns in the Chaco (it is 12 hours to Bahia Negra), or drive a car. Paraguay highway 9 is known as Ruta Transchaco as it crosses the region. Ruta 16 can be used to drive north to Defensores del Chaco National Park.

• Gran Chaco Kaa-Iya National Park (Bolivian national park adjacent to this reserve, more than 1 million hectares)
• Chaco (Argentina) (the Argentine part of the Chaco region, south of Paraguay)