Salto Suizo (Spanish for Swiss Waterfall) is the tallest and most visited of the area’s several waterfalls. A relatively small amount of water cascades over the sixty-two-meter high cliff top and is often nothing more than a fine mist by the time it reaches the swimming hole below. Just behind the waterfall is a cave which cuts into the rock face providing cool shade on a hot day. The main trail leads to the bottom of the waterfall but you can also hike through the woods and large patches of bamboo to the top where the view is stunning. For those who wish to stay the night there is a small campsite about a kilometer and a half away. From the road to Colonia Independencia take a right-hand turn at the roundabout and head into town. This road will end in the town’s double avenue Avenida Mariscal Francisco Solano Lopez. Take a left past the town’s main plaza and church. The road will soon turn to cobblestone and you’ll pass a Petrosur gas station. Just before the Plaza de la Independencia there is a signed right-hand turn for Salto Suizo (along with a sign for the Reiterhof horse ranch). Continue two kilometers and then take a right and continue five kilometers to the Salto Suizo trailhead. The last kilometer must be done on foot.
The Cordillera de Ybytyruzu
The Cordillera de Ybytyruzu mountain range is a rarity in mostly flat Paraguay. The range is home to peaks and waterfalls that exert their pull on Paraguay’s nature lovers. At 842 meters above sea level the Cerro Tres Kandu is the highest peak in all of Paraguay. Other popular peaks are Cerro AkatT, Cerrito and Cerro de la Cruz. At sixty meters Salto Suizo is the tallest and most visited of the area’s several waterfalls. From the rotary on the road between Mbocayaty and Colonia Independencia take a right and head to the center of Colonia Independencia. This road will T out into the double avenue Avenida Mariscal Fransisco Solano Lopez. Here take a right and continue about three blocks (the road will turn to cobblestone). Here you will find the signed left-hand turn off down a dirt road leading to Cerro Acati (seventeen kilometers), Salto Pai (five kilometers), Salto San Vincente (seven kilometers), Salto Mbyyui (four kilometers), and Ita Letra (twenty kilometers, although this last one is more easily accessed from Villarrica).
If you’d rather not venture out on your own Asuncion based DTP (www.dtp.com.py), Paraguay Natural Ecotourism (www.paraguaynatural.com.py) and Villarrica based Karumbe Xtreme offer guided tours of Ybyturuzu’s sights including rappelling down the Salto Suizo waterfall. In addition, Colonia Independencia’s Municipal Tourism Secretary (Tel: 0548 265 277 or Marcelo Rejiu, 0981 367 208) can help coordinate for transportation to the Salto Suizo, by truck as well as by horse (though riders are completely responsible for all safety and handling of horses).
Salto Suizo Map Paraguay Photo Gallery
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