Sylvie Claire / February 15, 2021
They are back: the giant water lilies of Paraguay have hatched after heavy rains near Asuncion, to the delight of tourists who came to admire this unusual natural wonder.
Nature continues to be friendly to us, says Rosa Morel, Director of Environmental Management at the Ministry of the Environment.
Native to the Amazon, the rare Victoria cruziana, locally called Yacaré Irupé, is the largest floating aquatic plant in the world, and thrives in tropical and stagnant waters.
Its spectacular apple-green leaves, which can grow up to 1.5 m in diameter, reappear every three years in shallow lagoons in a loop of the Paraguay River in Limpio, thirty kilometers from the capital Asuncion.
To better admire these giant Irupés, with the airs of gigantic pie dishes, nature lovers rent boats for a ride on these calm waters, frequented by palmipedes and where sometimes caimans are evolving