Pilar, Paraguay Pilar, Paraguay Pilar () is the capital city of the Paraguayan department of Ñeembucú, located along the Paraguay River in the southwestern part of the country. Located about from Asunción, Pilar serves as an important center of commerce and government for the far southwestern region of the country. Pilar was founded by Pedro Melo de Portugal on October 12, 1779. The original name of the settlement was "Villa del Ñeembucú", named for the nearby Arroyo Ñeembucú that flows into the Paraguay River. Four years later it was renamed "Villa del Pilar" by Spanish priest Marcial Antonio Uliambre, for the Basilica
Geography of Paraguay Geography of Paraguay Paraguay is a landlocked country in South America, bordering Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia. The Paraguay River (Spanish: "Río Paraguay") divides the country into strikingly different eastern and western regions. Both the eastern region (officially called Eastern Paraguay, "Paraguay Oriental", and known as the Paraneña region) and the western region (officially Western Paraguay, "Paraguay Occidental", and known as the Chaco) gently slope toward and are drained into the Paraguay River, which separates and unifies the two regions. With the Paraneña region reaching southward and the Chaco extending to the north, Paraguay straddles the Tropic of Capricorn and experiences