San Rafael National Park is in the Paraná Plateau region of southeastern Paraguay. The park includes at least three major environments: forest, grasslands, and wetlands.
Understand
[edit]The park covers an area of more than 69,000 hectares but much of the original park territory has been cleared for use as pastures or soy bean farming.
History
[edit]The park has a questionable legal status. Although it was declared as a national park in 1992, steps were never taken to acquire the lands that they wanted to protect. Some international environmental organizations (NGOs) acquired title to portions of the park, however most of the park's covered territory remains in private hands.
Landscape
[edit]Flora and fauna
[edit]
The park's wildlife is common to parks throughout South America including the tapir, jaguar, puma, peccaries, with at least 4 endangered endemic species, such as the maned wolf. Birdwatchers can find as many as 400 bird species in the park including the Vinaceous-breasted amazon, Black-fronted piping guan, Helmeted woodpecker, Russet-winged spadebill and Saffron-cowled blackbird.
Climate
[edit]The climate is mild at San Rafael with temperatures ranging from 17 °C to 23.8 °C. October to April are the warmest months with May to September being the cooler season. The park is green year round with an average annual rainfall of 2100 mm. Rain can occur at any time of year, but is most common in the months from October through February.
Get in
[edit]From Ciudad del Este, you can take a bus to the nearby village of Tavai. The bus takes about 3-1/2 hours for the 160 km trip and costs about US$10. From Tavai, you could hire a taxi or find a local tour guide to take you to the park.