"City Closest to the Famous Iguaçu Waterfalls" Foz do Iguaçu by glabah

Foz do Iguaçu Travel Guide: 267 reviews and 637 photos

Foz do Iguacu: the city of that name in Paraná - Foz do Iguaçu
Foz do Iguacu: the city of that name in Paraná
The City is NOT the Park!

It should be understood that Foz do Iguaçu is the city that is closest to the famous waterfalls, and is not the name of the national park where the falls are located. Instead, the actual location of the falls is inside Iguaçu National Park (Parque Nacional do Iguaçu).

If you are interested in seeing my material related to the big, famous falls this is located in my Parque Nacional do Iguaçu page as that is the most appropriate place for that information.

This is important once you get to the city of Foz do Iguaçu: "As Cataratas" (the cataracts) is what you will see on the signs telling you the direction to the national park. The signs to Foz do Iguaçu tell you how to get to the downtown part of the city, as that is the name of the city. Upon arrival at the airport, you turn left on the main highway to get to the National Park, and turn right to get to the city.

Gateway to the Falls
"Three Musketeers" section of Falls, Sept. 2000 - Foz do Iguaçu

"Three Musketeers" section of Falls, Sept. 2000

There are two reasons people come to the city of Foz do Iguaçu: to visit Parque Nacional do Iguaçu and (for Brazilians) to visit Paraguay and purchase items (pirated goods or not) for much less than they would be able to do so in Brazil. Thus, the city has two very distinct types of visitors.

It is much cheaper to find a place to stay in Foz do Iguaçu than inside the national park.

Getting to the falls from the city is fairly easy: The city bus service that runs to the falls runs reasonably frequently and goes through a fair portion of the city before arriving at the entrance to the park.

It is also possible to drive to the park from the city. This is convenient as well, but except for certain circumstances private vehicles are not allowed inside the park. Therefore, either way you wind up having to take a national parks bus once you get past the entrance gate.

Other Attractions

The city has a few other attractions, including the tour of the Itaipu Hydroelectric Dam, the Mark of the Three Frontiers, and The Bird Park.

Pros and Cons
  • Pros:Gateway city to a great national park.
  • Cons:Huge Tourist Traffic. Nearby Paraguay creates an environment in the city that is also focused on cheap junk and pirated goods.
  • In a nutshell:Gateway City to Big international tourist attraction. Traffic generated involved good and bad elements of society.
  • Last visit to Foz do Iguaçu: May 2011
  • Intro Updated Jul 3, 2011
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Reviews (11)

Tropicana at Juscelino Kubitschek & Júlio Pasa - Foz do Iguaçu Working Class Churrascaria Restaurants (2)

A churrascaria is a Brazilian style restaurant where they bring out good quality meat in an all-you-can-eat fashion, and... more travel advice

Bus Route 120 Serves Entrance to National Park - Foz do Iguaçu City Bus Services: Reasonably Good Transportation (1)

The city of Foz do Iguaçu has reasonably good bus services, but it is best to know a bit of Portuguese in order to use... more travel advice

Artesanato & Chocolate Caseiro - Foz do Iguaçu Many Gift Ideas from a Wide Range Shopping (1)

Unfortunately this store falls into the standard tourist line: it is positioned to maximize the exposure to tourists,... more travel advice

Huge Tower Construction Site is a Dead End - Foz do Iguaçu The Space Needle of South America... Tourist Traps (1)

Some years back, it was decided by people who really should know better that Foz do Iguaçu needed to have a new... more travel advice

Comments (3)

  • Reply
    BruceDunning's Profile Photo
    Feb 24, 2012 at 3:16 PM

    These waterfalls look like they would rank in top 5 globally. You are fortunate to have seen such lovely nature in the area.

  • Reply
    toonsarah's Profile Photo
    May 23, 2010 at 4:15 AM

    We loved Iguacu but ran out of time to see the bird park unfortunately, so I was interested to read your experiences there. And I love the sound of the Oficina do Sorvete!!

  • Reply
    mikelisaanna's Profile Photo
    Oct 24, 2009 at 1:43 PM

    The Falls look pretty amazing. We'd love to go there some day to see them.

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