Current Time in Posadas, Argentina

Posadas lies in the far northeast of Argentina, on the southern bank of the Paraná River, directly opposite the Paraguayan city of Encarnación. It is the capital of Misiones province, a narrow wedge of territory pressed between Paraguay and Brazil where the earth is a deep rust red and the vegetation is subtropical and lush. Summers are hot and humid, winters mild, and rain falls generously throughout the year, feeding forests of pine, yerba mate and tea.

Around three hundred and fifty thousand people live in the city, with more in the surrounding metropolitan area. Posadas is the administrative, commercial and educational heart of the province and a busy border crossing, linked to Paraguay by the San Roque González de Santa Cruz bridge, which carries both road traffic and an international train service.

The region takes its name from the Jesuit missions established here in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when priests and Guaraní communities built a remarkable network of self governing settlements with churches, workshops and schools. After the Jesuits were expelled the missions declined, and the site of Posadas passed between Paraguayan and Argentine control before being formally established as an Argentine town in the 1870s and named after a leader of the early independence era. Immigrants from Paraguay, Brazil, Ukraine, Poland, Germany and Japan arrived over the following decades, giving Misiones an unusually varied population.

The city was transformed by the Yacyretá hydroelectric dam downstream, which raised the level of the Paraná and required entire riverside neighbourhoods to be relocated. In their place the city built a long and handsome costanera, a riverside promenade with lawns, beaches, cycle paths, bars and viewpoints, which has become the centre of social life and the best place to watch the sun set over the water.

The greatest attractions of the region lie just beyond the city. The ruins of San Ignacio Miní, an hour to the northeast, are the most complete of the Jesuit mission sites and are protected as a World Heritage location, their red stone walls and carved facades rising from the grass. Some three hundred kilometres further north are the Iguazú Falls, one of the most spectacular natural wonders on earth. Closer at hand, visitors can tour yerba mate plantations, see the Santa Ana ruins or explore the wetlands and forest reserves of the province.

Cultural life includes a strong tradition of chamamé and litoraleño music, a colourful carnival, craft markets and a cuisine built around river fish such as surubí and dorado, grilled meat, cassava and endless rounds of mate. Guaraní words are woven into everyday speech. The National University of Misiones and several other institutions bring thousands of students to the city.

An airport, long distance buses and the international bridge connect Posadas in every direction, while local buses and taxis serve the urban area.

Posadas is valued as a relaxed riverside capital and the natural base for exploring the missions and forests of northeastern Argentina.