Paraguay

Paraguay is South America's forgotten heartland — a landlocked nation that most travelers skip entirely, making it one of the continent's most authentic and least touristy countries. What makes Paraguay truly unique is its bilingualism: it's the only country in the Americas where an indigenous language — Guaraní — is spoken by the vast majority of the population alongside Spanish. Even the upper classes speak Guaraní at home, and the language is an official part of national identity.

The country was nearly wiped off the map in the War of the Triple Alliance (1864-1870), when Paraguay fought Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay simultaneously and lost up to 90% of its male population — one of the most devastating wars in modern history. Despite this, Paraguayans rebuilt with remarkable resilience. The Itaipú Dam on the Paraná River, shared with Brazil, is one of the largest hydroelectric power plants in the world and generates nearly all of Paraguay's electricity. The Chaco region in the west is a vast, sparsely populated wilderness that makes up 60% of the country's territory but holds only 2% of its population.