Family-friendly places in Filadelfia: what to do with kids in the Chaco

In Filadelfia, the best family plan is a morning on foot along Avenida Hindenburg with the Gran Chaco Interpretation Centre and the Jakob Unger Museum, lunch and a siesta in the shade, then a late-afternoon trip to a Chaco War fort or to see the Chacoan peccary at Fortín Toledo. The town is about 470 km from Asunción on the Transchaco (Wikipedia⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠), so plan at least two days and build the schedule around the heat.

Morning in town: museums kids enjoy

• Gran Chaco Interpretation Centre. At the town entrance, and covers wildlife, plants, indigenous peoples and the Chaco War (InfoNegocios⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). Open Wednesday to Sunday, 9:00 to 17:00, free entry (La Nación, 2025⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). Make it your first stop: it helps kids make sense of the rest of the trip.
• Jakob Unger Science Museum. Stuffed Chaco wildlife including about 210 bird species, glyptodon and mastodon fossils and pre-Columbian objects (InfoNegocios⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). It is on Avenida Hindenburg at Calle Unruh and is the only cooperative museum with permanent opening; the others are booked through the tourist office (Wikivoyage⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠).
• School Museum. The colony's first central school building, where classes began in 1936 (InfoNegocios⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). A good "then and now" for school-age kids.
• Ruedas Pioneras. An open-air display of early settlers' transport at the east entrance (Wikivoyage⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). Ten minutes, no booking.

Stop first at the Fernheim Cooperative tourist office, which runs the museum circuit (La Nación, 2025⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠), and ask what is open that day.

Midday: where to eat and cool off

Most businesses close 12:00 to 14:00 on weekdays, on Saturday afternoons and on Sundays (Wikivoyage⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). Eat before noon and don't leave shopping for Saturday afternoon.

• Hotel Florida restaurant. At Avenida Hindenburg 165-S, run by the Fernheim Cooperative, with buffet and à la carte (InfoNegocios⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠; Hotel Florida⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). Wikivoyage mentions its sharing pizzas and a courtyard open on Sundays and holidays (Wikivoyage⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). If you stay there, the hotel pool for guests (Wikivoyage⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠; InfoNegocios⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠) is the best plan for the hottest hours.
• Cooperative supermarket food court. Fernheim's central supermarket was expanded with a food court (ABC Color, 2018⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠), where a restaurant serves buffet and à la carte (Wikivoyage⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). Handy with kids: eat, buy water and snacks, move on.

Carry cash: few shops take cards (Wikivoyage⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠).

Parks and short walks

• Parque de las Memorias, downtown, with the monument to the first settlers (Wikipedia⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠; Wikivoyage⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). Good for a short loop after the museums.
• The "Gatter" sawmill in the garden of the colony's old administration building, the colony's first saw (Wikipedia⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠).
• Parque Urundey, on the eastern edge of town near the airstrip, full of urunde'y trees (Wikivoyage⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠).

Afternoon or day two: forts and Chaco wildlife

You need a car or a hotel tour; everything is tens of kilometres away.

• Fortín Toledo and the Chacoan peccary. The Chaco Conservation and Research Centre (CCCI) breeds the taguá, the Chacoan peccary, and has bred 70 animals. It is 30 km from Filadelfia, about 9 km in from the Transchaco, and gives environmental talks to visitors and schools (La Nación, 2026⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). The same site has the Fortín Toledo museum, trenches, underground shelters known as "tucas" and Paraguayan and Bolivian soldiers' cemeteries. Get in touch first to arrange the visit, as no hours are published.
• Fortín Boquerón. One of the best preserved forts, with a museum of weapons and war photos, trenches and a cemetery (ABC Color, 2022⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). Best for older kids who have studied the Chaco War.
• Laguna Capitán. Salt lagoons with flamingos and coscoroba swans; Filadelfia hotels offer the trip (InfoNegocios⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). Bring binoculars, hats and repellent.

When to go and how to handle the heat

Summer heat goes above 40 °C (Wikipedia⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). On 35 to 40 °C days, Paraguay's Health Ministry advises exercising between 6:00 and 10:00 or 18:00 and 22:00 and drinking small amounts often (La Nación, 2022⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). With kids, that means museums mid-morning, a siesta from 12:00 to 16:00 and forts at sunset. Winter is drier and cooler but can drop below freezing (Wikivoyage⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠), so pack layers for the night.

Dates with family activities (La Nación, 2025⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠):

• Fiesta de las Tradiciones, late June or early July, with traditional games and food from the area's different peoples (Wikipedia⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠).
• Expo Rodeo Trébol, the country's oldest agricultural fair, held at the Asociación Rodeo Trébol grounds in Loma Plata district (La Nación, 2025⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). Book rooms early for those dates.
• Christmas markets in December.

Getting there with kids

• By car: about 470 km on Route PY09 Transchaco; the centre is 15 km off the highway (Wikivoyage⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). Leave at dawn, refuel before long stretches and carry plenty of water.
• By bus: about 7 hours from Asunción's bus terminal (Wikivoyage⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠); buses arrive on Avenida Hindenburg. There is no public transport in town, but the centre is flat and walkable.