Posadas

Posadas is a river city facing Encarnación, in Paraguay, across the Paraná, with a long riverside promenade and the main airport of southern Misiones. Sixty kilometres east lies the reason most travellers stop: the Ruinas de San Ignacio, the best preserved of the Jesuit-Guaraní missions in Argentina, a World Heritage Site of red sandstone where carved baroque façades stand among the trees. The missions of Loreto and Santa Ana are close by, and across the river in Paraguay, Trinidad and Jesús complete the picture.

Posadas is usually the arrival point for a self-drive circuit: the car is collected at the airport, and the first stop is San Ignacio, on the way north to Iguazú or west to the Esteros del Iberá. A night in the area allows the ruins to be seen calmly, early in the morning or late in the afternoon, and the light-and-sound show held among them after dark.

April to October is the best time, with mild days. Summer is very hot, and the ruins are best visited early.