Gateway to the Jesuit missions — red earth, yerba mate, and stone ruins rising from the Misiones jungle
Posadas is the subtropical capital of Misiones province and the base for exploring the UNESCO Jesuit-Guaraní missions — seventeen vast stone mission complexes built between 1609 and 1767, of which San Ignacio Miní (60km away) rivals Angkor in its haunting completeness. The Paraná River runs past town; Iguazu Falls is two hours away; and the red-earth jungle has its own pace and food culture built around yerba mate and Guaraní influence.
The Jesuit Guaraní reductions were self-governing communities housing over 100,000 people at their peak, built on a blend of European and Guaraní culture. The Jesuits were expelled by the Spanish Crown in 1767 and the communities collapsed within a generation, swallowed by jungle until 19th-century explorers began mapping them. Posadas was refounded as a garrison post after Paraguayan conflicts in the 1870s.