Pharmacies in Filadelfia: how to find one open with your medicine

In Filadelfia, the right pharmacy is the one that has your medicine today and is open when you get there: distances in the Chaco are long, and a wasted trip in 40-degree heat hurts. Before heading out, call or message with the exact name of the medicine, confirm they have it and ask until what time they are open, especially around midday and at weekends.

When are pharmacies open in Filadelfia?

Filadelfia keeps its own rhythm: most businesses close on weekdays from 12:00 to 14:00, on Saturday afternoon and on Sunday (Wikivoyage⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). Each pharmacy sets its own hours, so:

• Shop in the morning, before midday.
• For Saturday afternoon or Sunday, save the numbers of two or three pharmacies and call before you go.
• If your treatment cannot wait until Monday, buy what you will need for the weekend on Friday.

The main street is Avenida Hindenburg, which runs north to south with shops, hotels and restaurants along it (Wikivoyage⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠), so start your map search there.

Visiting or passing through the Chaco

Filadelfia is 470 km from Asunción on Route PY09, the Transchaco (Wikipedia⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠), and the centre is about 15 km off the highway (Wikivoyage⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). With Loma Plata, 25 km away, it forms a single urban area (Wikipedia⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠).

• Bring your daily medication from Asunción, with the prescription. If it is an unusual medicine, ask ahead whether they stock it or how long it takes to order.
• If you are heading deeper into the Chaco, stock up in Filadelfia: first-aid kit, oral rehydration salts, sunscreen and insect repellent.
• Cash: outside hotels, larger restaurants and the cooperative supermarket, few shops take credit cards (Wikivoyage⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). QR is now Paraguay's most used electronic payment, with 68.1% of electronic payments processed by Bancard in April 2026 (ABC Color⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠), but carry cash just in case.

Heat and your medicines

Summers top 40 °C and the record high is 44.8 °C (Wikipedia⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). The hottest months run from November to March (Wikivoyage⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). That changes how you shop:

• Do not leave medicines in the car: the cabin heats up within minutes. Make the pharmacy your last stop before heading home.
• Refrigerated products (insulin, some vaccines and eye drops) must come out of a fridge. Bring a cool box with ice if you live far away or are travelling on.
• Syrups and creams: keep them in the coolest spot at home, not by a window.

What do you need to buy with a prescription?

• Antibiotics: in Paraguay, medicines with systemic antibiotic activity are sold under an archived simple prescription (receta simple archivada), under Ministry of Health Resolution S.G. No. 576/18 (PAHO⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). Bring the original prescription, because the pharmacy keeps it.
• If your brand is not available: ask for an alternative with the same active ingredient and check with the pharmacist or your doctor. Paraguay's Chamber of Pharmacies has a product search⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠ by active ingredient and laboratory.
• If you were treated at the town hospital, on the grounds where the Hospital Museum stands (Wikivoyage⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠), ask there what they can give you and what you need to buy outside before you leave.

What to check at the counter

Dinavisa, the national health surveillance agency, licenses and inspects pharmacies. Its inspections have found products without health registration, prices above the permitted level and missing cold-chain equipment (Última Hora⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). So:

• Check that the box has the health registration number and laboratory printed on it.
• Make sure refrigerated items come out of a fridge.
• If something seems off, look up the pharmacy in Dinavisa⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠'s public list of licensed establishments, where you can also file a complaint.