See this at: nytimes.com| Added on 10/29/09

In theory, at least, no destination is more sought after by travelers than Off the Beaten Track, that elusive Eden unspoiled by civilization. While the prospects of finding such places on our crowded planet shrink almost daily, some relatively... See more

In theory, at least, no destination is more sought after by travelers than Off the Beaten Track, that elusive Eden unspoiled by civilization. While the prospects of finding such places on our crowded planet shrink almost daily, some relatively unspoiled places still exist and the name of one of them is Filadelfia. This Filadelfia is a settlement in Paraguay founded early in this century by Mennonites, members of a 16th-century Protestant sect that fled Europe for the New World in search of religious freedom as well as exemption from conscription for military service. Today, Paraguay, a tiny land-locked pastoral nation hemmed in by Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia, is largely ignored by travelers to Rio, Buenos Aires or La Paz. And of the few tourists who do manage to find their way to Asuncion, the sleepy capital, few ever find their way out to Filadelfia. That is because the village is accessible only after a bone-jarring 10-hour bus ride 250 miles northwest into the Chaco Boreal, a... See less