Foz do Iguaçu is a city in the state of Paraná, in southern Brazil, with around 260,000 inhabitants. It borders Ciudad del Este, Paraguay and Puerto Iguazú in Argentina. From what I understand, the city has grown immensely in recent years and the amount of construction and developments that can be seen, will likely continue to grow! The main attraction in the area, which attracts tourists from all over the world, is the Iguazu Falls National Park, the largest waterfalls system in the world, with around 275 spectacular waterfalls. Click here if you want to read more about the park.
Other popular attractions are: Marco das Três Fronteiras, from where you can see the three bordering countries, separated only by the Iguaçu and Paraná rivers, at the moment they unite.
Parque das Aves, a park focused on the conservation of birds from the Atlantic Rainforest, though it also has other species of animals such as turtles and crocodiles.
Central Hidroeléctrica Itaipu Binacional, a hydroelectric power plant with the highest energy production yield in the world, being super efficient, built together and on the border of Brazil and Paraguay.
There are also many other new attractions such as an 88 meter ferris wheel near the Marco das Três Fronteiras and the new bridge that will connect Brazil to Paraguay, Dinosaur theme parks, Wax Museum, Buddhist Temple, Museum of Cinema Cars, aquatic parks, etc. There are countless things to do for everyone. How to get to Foz do Iguaçu? There is an airport in the city with direct flights from São Paulo (Brazil) among others, and there are also several bus companies from the main cities. In our case, we took a 6-hour drive from Maringá as we were in the city with some friends. It's not an amazing road, as it is a road heavily used by trucks, and most of the time it's just one lane on each side, which makes overtaking trucks a pretty "interesting" experience. The best thing is to fall asleep fast so you don't see it.
How much time to stay in Foz do Iguaçu? We have spent three days, two nights in Foz do Iguaçu, and that was enough for us. Our itinerary was as follows: Day 1, afternoon - Marco das Três Fronteiras, Brazil Day 2, morning - Parque das Aves Day 2, afternoon - Iguazu Falls National Park Day 3, morning - Itaipu Binacional Hydroelectric Power Plant After the visit, what would we change? We would try to book the first scheduled time to visit the Iguazu Falls and visit first thing in the morning because it was very hot and there were a lot of people at the time we went. We would also change the Parque das Aves to the afternoon because it was much cooler there, there are many shades and trees. We would also add an extra day to visit the Iguazu Falls from the Argentine side, since it has a larger area, a privileged view of the Devil's Throat and some beautiful trails. Due to lack of time, we didn't go to the Argentine side. At the moment, the access to the Devil's Throat on the Argentinean side is under repairs, so it is not possible to have that panoramic view, which doesn't make me sad that I didn't go, it's just one reason to want to come back! 😃
