A well developed city just next to Itaipu and the wonderful Iguazu Falls!

Foz do Iguacu, Brazil, is a city with a tremendous landscape. One of the largest waterfalls in the world, the Iguazu Falls, in the middle of the powerful Parana river, the one that gives name to the world’s 2nd largest hydrographic basin, lies just a few miles away from it.

The Iguazu Falls are located in the region known as The Three Borders, between the countries of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. The Falls lie just south of the Itaipu Powerplant, the largest dam in the world after the Three Gorges Dam in China. Such features make the city a wealthy and well developed place.

Facts:

• Population: 310,000 inhabitants
• Tourist acommodations: The Iguazu Falls are the 2nd largest tourist attraction in Brazil, just after Rio de Janeiro, so it’s easy to find good hotels and other well developed tourist facilities. You may also find acommodations in the neighborhooding cities of Puerto Iguazu, Argentina and Ciudad de Leste, Paraguay
• Places to visit: The Iguazu Falls, of course, and the Itaipu Dam
• Language: Portuguese. English barely spoken, basic portuguese classes are highly advisable. Accross the borders with Paraguay and Argentina, Spanish

Dangers:

• pickpocketers: the Three Borders region are known to have a somewhat high crime rate, particularly in Ciudad de Leste, Paraguay
• Crossing Ponte da Amizade (Friendship Bridge) can be a nuisance

Health:

• Yellow fever vaccine: tough not so common so far in the South, taking a yellow fever vaccine is advisable
• Health insurance highly recommended, public health care is poor

Miscellaneous:

• Car rental: somewhat expensive, a Toyota Corolla might cost some US$ 150/day. There is a Hertz agency in the International Airport
• Climate: winter begins in June, summer in december. Average temperature ranges from 14ºC (57F) in July to 26º (79F) in January. Lowest temperatures expected are 9ºC (48F) in July and 33ºC (91F) in January (see graph here), but they can get to extremes of -5ºC (23F) and 50ºC (122F). The summer is rainy and the winter is drier

Distances to other important cities:

• Curitiba - 650 km (400 mi)
• São Paulo - 1030km (640 mi)

Useful links:

• Electric plugs and outlets
• Wikipedia entry
• Skyscrapercity forum thread (portuguese)