Foz do Iguaçu

Foz do Iguaçu is a city in the state of Paraná in southern Brazil and serves as the main Brazilian gateway to the Iguaçu (Iguazu) Falls and to the Itaipu hydroelectric complex. It sits at an international junction bordering Argentina and Paraguay and is a regional transport and tourism hub.

The area is best known for the nearby Iguaçu Falls, a series of cataracts stretching across roughly 2.7 kilometres with hundreds of individual drops that form one of the largest waterfall systems in the world. Close to the city is the Itaipu Dam, a major hydroelectric facility with an installed capacity of about 14,000 MW that offers guided technical and panoramic visits. Other local highlights include the Parque das Aves, a large bird park near the falls, and the Marco das Três Fronteiras viewpoint at the triple border.

The settlement expanded in the 20th century as tourism to the falls grew and with the construction of the Itaipu project in the 1970s and 1980s, which brought infrastructure and population growth to the region. The city developed visitor services, cross-border commerce with Ciudad del Este (Paraguay) and transport links to the national parks.

Foz do Iguaçu sits in northwestern Paraná at the confluence of the Iguaçu and Paraná rivers. It directly borders Ciudad del Este in Paraguay and lies a short drive from Puerto Iguazú in Argentina, forming a tri-border urban area and easy access to the surrounding rainforest and protected parks.

• Best views: Panoramic viewpoints on the Brazilian side offer broad, sweeping views of the falls while the Argentine side provides closer, lower-level walkways along many individual cataracts.
• Typical itinerary: Many visitors combine trips to the falls with a tour of the Itaipu hydroelectric plant and a visit to the nearby bird park for full-day itineraries.

What to See #

• Iguaçu National Park (Brazil): The Brazilian side of the national park provides panoramic walkways and viewing platforms that look across the main cataracts of the falls and connect to trails and visitor centres.
• Itaipu Dam: One of the largest hydroelectric plants in the world, with an installed capacity of about 14,000 MW, open for guided technical and panoramic tours.
• Parque das Aves: A private bird park adjacent to the park entrance that displays regional and neotropical species and offers close-up aviaries and trails.
• Marco das Três Fronteiras: A riverside viewpoint marking the meeting point of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, with a small park and night-time illumination.