For your Iguassu Falls Brazil Side & Itaipu Hydroelectric Plant full-day tour you will be picked up from your Puerto Iguassu hotel in an air-conditioned vehicle and driven to the Iguassu National Park. A bilingual (English and Spanish) guide will accompany you.
Located on the Iguazú River, on the border between Brazil and Argentina, Iguassu Falls are the result of a volcanic eruption which left a large crack in the earth. They are higher than Niagara and twice as wide, with 275 cascading waterfalls spread out in a horseshoe fashion covering nearly 2 miles. During the rainy season, between November and March, the rate of water flow over the falls can reach over 450,000 cubic feet (12,750 cubic m) per second.
The name Iguassu comes from the Guaraní Indian word meaning ‘great water’. This delightful tour allows you to experience the awesome spectacle of the Iguassu from the Brazilian side of the river.
From the Brazilian side you can see stunning panoramas of the Falls and magnificent views of the famous feature known as The Devil´s Throat (or ‘Garganta del Diablo’). Here, 14 falls drop 350 feet with such force that a 100-foot tall cloud of mist is permanently suspended overhead.
For a close-up view, walk through the subtropical forest of Iguassu National Park to the base of Salto Floriano and take the elevator to the top of the Falls, or walk out over the Falls at Salto Union.
Lunch is not included in the tour but there will be a stop to allow you to purchase something to eat.
This tour also includes a visit to Itaipu Dam, the largest operational hydroelectric power plant in the world. Built on the Paraná River near the border between Brazil and Paraguay, the plant generates a power of 12,600 megawatts, that’s 25 per cent of the electricity consumed by Brazil and 95 per cent of the energy consumed by Paraguay.
The dam is a magnificent feat of engineering by any standards. The volume of concrete used in the reservoir could construct 210 stadiums the size of Maracaná and the iron and the steel would be enough to construct a building 380 times the size of the Eiffel Tower.
It’s therefore not surprising that, in 1994, the American Society of Civil Engineers elected the Itaipu Dam as one of the seven modern Wonders of the World!
You will be shown short film about Itaipu and its amazing history before boarding a bus for a guided tour which explains the significance of the dam and the operation of the plant. The bus will stop at a central lookout where you will be able to see the plant and its incredible structures including the gigantic pressure tubes.
The tour of the dam takes about 1 hour 30 minutes in total. Afterwards you will be taken back to your hotel.