Poor Paraguay - overlooked by many who visit South America.  It has no world-class sightseeing site, and its only major city - Asuncion - is too gritty and unpolished for many tourists.  Jesuit Missions of Trinidad and Jesús de Tavarangue are probably the highlight of Paraguay's sights, but you will likely have these UNESCO world heritage sites to yourself.

I took a bus from Asuncion to Encarnación for a two-night stay.  Encarnación is a small tranquil city that is best known for its annual Carnival.  There is not much to see in the city itself.  In one museum, the staff took a photo of me and promptly posted on their Facebook page that they had a visitor from Canada.

The Jesuit Mission of Trinidad site (photo) is fairly easy to get to from Encarnación as there are decent number of buses that regularly pass it.  As I had not been to the Argentinian Jesuit missions yet, I found the site to be very novel and interesting.  Even though the main church was only partially standing, there is more than enough standing for one to appreciate its grandeur and craftmanship.  Ruins or foundations of the houses were also visible.  I shared the large open site with perhaps just a couple of other tourists.

Jesús de Tavarangue is close enough to Trinidad that you can very easily visit both on the same day, but it is far enough that you probably want to do so by car or bus (approximately 12 kilometres away).  As the buses to Jesús de Tavarangue travel infrequently, I took one of the taxis that were waiting at a turnoff near Trinidad.  I arranged with the taxi driver to wait for me as I visited Jesús de Tavarangue.

I also very much appreciated Jesús de Tavarangue, but it is not as beautiful as Trinidad.  It is essentially a large church with all its external walls standing but not much else.  It also lacks the beautiful carvings that graced the Trinidad church.  Having said so, considering the lack of other sites/activities that would compete for your attention, I think Jesús de Tavarangue is definitely worth a visit if you are in Encarnación.

From Encarnacion, you can take the Posadas–Encarnación International Train across the river to Posadas, Argentina.  From Posadas, you can make your way to the Jesuit missions of Argentina, e.g., San Ignacio Mini. It is difficult for me to compare Trinidad to San Ignacio Mini, if someone was to ask me which one I liked better.  They are similar enough but also just different enough.  All I can say with certainty is that I am glad that I experienced both

From San Ignacio Mini, you can proceed to Puerto Iguazu/Iguazu Falls.  In Puerto Iguazu, there is a river where three nations' borders meet, that is to say, the borders of Argentina, Brasil, and Paraguay.  From the high ground above this point on the Argentinian side of the river, you can do what many people do to Paraguay.  Overlook it.