Encarnación is a district and the capital city of Itapúa Department in Paraguay, located at the south-east of the department, on the right-hand (western) shore of the Paraná River, opposite Posadas in Argentina. The city has an area of 274 km² and a population of 128,000. Encarnación is the third-largest city of Paraguay. Encarnación is connected to Posadas by the San Roque González de Santa Cruz Bridge and the International Train. The city is located on Route 1, some 370 km (225 miles) from Asunción, and located on Route 6, some 280 km (175 miles) from Ciudad del Este. The Teniente Amin Ayub Gonzalez Airport, 12 kilometres from the city, is the third most important airport of the country. Because of the mild climate, the city is often referred to as the Pearl of the South. Near the town (28 km on the Ruta 6) are the former Jesuit missions of La Santísima Trinidad de Paraná and Jesús de Tavarangüe, which were collectively declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.
The mission called Anunciación de Itapua was founded by the Paraguayan Jesuit San Roque González de Santa Cruz on March 25, 1615 on the southern side of the Paraná river. That mission was relocated to the north side in the current location of the city in 1703 under the name Encarncación de Itapua. It gained in importance after the connection to the railway system in 1894. In 1957, the city was made the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Encarnación. Encarnación was the birthplace of Alfredo Stroessner, general and head of state of Paraguay from 1954 to 1989. Lately, the city experienced a radical change, with the loss of the “Zona Baja” because the “Plan de Terminación Yacyretá” (Termination plan of Yacyretá) giving way to a renewed modern city with wide avenues, bridges, etc.
Lately Encarnación has become the tourism capital of the country, with its wide beaches and newly completed waterfront boardwalk. In 2015 Encarnacion reached a new peak in tourists that visited the city. With more than 30 000 people going there for their vacation Jaime Fernandez, head of the Hotel Association of Encarnación, confirmed that there were no places available throughout the Encarnacion and lodgings were improvised 50 km (31 miles) around the city.
On December 2011 the Costanera Avenue was inaugurated and with it three beaches were opened to the public. These three beaches were the Mbói Ka’e Beach, the Pacu Cuá Beach, and the San José Beach. From the three beaches the San José Beach is the most visited by tourists and has several restaurants at the tourists disposal. Furthermore, another very big touristic attraction is the annually celebrated Carnaval Encarnaceno, usually in February. This event attracts more than 100,000 people every year and marks the summer high season in tourism for the city. Different clubs will compete against each other on a parade in which they will be qualified by a group of judges under the following criteria: originality, design, charisma, dance, rhythm, beauty, and elegance.
