Here some impressions from the Iguacu Falls I took in October 2003. It was one of the driest seasons and therefore the water was not that impressive - but anyway.

A tip: go the the argentinian side on a day-trip (there are cheep arrangements) and see the falls from close on all layers. Take another day for the Brazilian side - you have a better overview and can walk over the water inbetween the layers.

Don't get into too deep discussions with the travel guides - they are not specialized as the ones in the Pantanal and try to tell you stories and facts that are not true only to make themselves more important and get a bigger tip. Read some books about wildlife and flora of the region - you will see a lot of them, even though some of them are just there because the tourists feed them - take care of the robbing Quatis! :lol:

Also take a trip to Itaipu dam - unfortunatly you won't see much and you can't go inside but the closer you get, the more impressive it is. Clear it's a lot of propaganda involved in the tours but you can think for yourself I guess ;)

To cross the bridge over to Paraguay (Cidade del Este) is NOT recommended - only if you are looking for some cheap faked watches, tennis or especially cd-players and hifis...

From the Argentinian side:
http://www.socio.ch/maro/images/DSC00631.jpg
http://www.socio.ch/maro/images/DSC00632.jpg
http://www.socio.ch/maro/images/DSC00635.jpg
http://www.socio.ch/maro/images/DSC00637.jpg

The most exclusive and expensive Brazilian Hotel (no, I didn't stay here :lol: ):
http://www.socio.ch/maro/images/DSC00645.jpg

I stayed in the Hotel Colonial Iguacu - close at the park entrance. It's high quality and not too expensive. It's park offers an inside of the local flora (signalized path). Also the dinner is recommended ;)

The Brazilian side:
http://www.socio.ch/maro/images/DSC00646.jpg
http://www.socio.ch/maro/images/DSC00648.jpg
http://www.socio.ch/maro/images/DSC00649.jpg

Here some impressions from the Iguacu Falls I took in October 2003. It was one of the driest seasons and therefore the water was not that impressive - but anyway.

A tip: go the the argentinian side on a day-trip (there are cheep arrangements) and see the falls from close on all layers. Take another day for the Brazilian side - you have a better overview and can walk over the water inbetween the layers.

Don't get into too deep discussions with the travel guides - they are not specialized as the ones in the Pantanal and try to tell you stories and facts that are not true only to make themselves more important and get a bigger tip. Read some books about wildlife and flora of the region - you will see a lot of them, even though some of them are just there because the tourists feed them - take care of the robbing Quatis! :lol:

Also take a trip to Itaipu dam - unfortunatly you won't see much and you can't go inside but the closer you get, the more impressive it is. Clear it's a lot of propaganda involved in the tours but you can think for yourself I guess ;)

To cross the bridge over to Paraguay (Cidade del Este) is NOT recommended - only if you are looking for some cheap faked watches, tennis or especially cd-players and hifis...

From the Argentinian side:
http://www.socio.ch/maro/images/DSC00631.jpg
http://www.socio.ch/maro/images/DSC00632.jpg
http://www.socio.ch/maro/images/DSC00635.jpg
http://www.socio.ch/maro/images/DSC00637.jpg

The most exclusive and expensive Brazilian Hotel (no, I didn't stay here :lol: ):
http://www.socio.ch/maro/images/DSC00645.jpg

I stayed in the Hotel Colonial Iguacu - close at the park entrance. It's high quality and not too expensive. It's park offers an inside of the local flora (signalized path). Also the dinner is recommended ;)

The Brazilian side:
http://www.socio.ch/maro/images/DSC00646.jpg
http://www.socio.ch/maro/images/DSC00648.jpg
http://www.socio.ch/maro/images/DSC00649.jpg

That region still looks very tropical and humid from the vegetation in the pic.

I was there a month ago. The scene is truly spectacular


To cross the bridge over to Paraguay (Cidade del Este) is NOT recommended - only if you are looking for some cheap faked watches, tennis or especially cd-players and hifis...

:lol: :lol:

I actually went there and was amazed at the complete lack of controls at the border: completely lawless.

People go there only for shopping but it can be a good occasion to set foot in Paraguay (certainly not the most visited country in the world) and see something different: beware that the contrast between the Brazilian side and the Paraguayan one is stark (the latter being far poorer).

I would recommend going to Ciudad Del Este only to those who are adventurous and even then I would recommend to be extremely careful carrying money or any other valuables: the streets and sidewalks are extremely crowded and it would be very easy for someone to steal in the midst of the confusion. I also strongly suggest to park the car (if that's the mode of transportation) on the Brazilian side of the border (there are several parking houses in the vicinity, they are a bit hard to find but there will be plenty of people who can point them out to you) as the traffic in Ciudad Dell'Este is extremely caotic.

Oh, and if anybody has a Lonely Planet Guide for Brazil : don't believe a word of that little paragraph they write about this city, the authors are probably describing how it was years ago.

That looks really awesome.

I would maybe have crossed over to Paraguay but if you have only 3 or 4 days there is better things to see. But I have friends who go shopping there. It must be so cheap and all faked. You know that the Brazilians call "a fake" a "Paraquayan"... :rofl:

The contrast is enormous, like from Texas to Mexico - I crossed that once and I never will forget the arrogancy of cutting the whole border down with barbed wires. The US police with guns looking down to the begging children on the other side of the Rio Grande... and all Americans go for cheap shopping and eating there and treat the Mexicans also inside of the country strictly second class - :nono: they stole the land from them in the 1830s!!!! Okay not all, but a lot :(

The contrast is enormous, like from Texas to Mexico - I crossed that once and I never will forget the arrogancy of cutting the whole border down with barbed wires. The US police with guns looking down to the begging children on the other side of the Rio Grande... and all Americans go for cheap shopping and eating there and treat the Mexicans also inside of the country strictly second class - :nono: they stole the land from them in the 1830s!!!! Okay not all, but a lot :(

Reminds me of crossing border of Quebec and Vermont- Quebecois are arrogant and speaking French, their driving skill is famous--- almost like Italians and near the border they have police, though much better than Texan border I think. Not many Quebecois wanted to cross that border, or vice versa. But still some Quebecois robbed me right after I crossed the border, it was terrible, they looks as if they were from third-world Frenchmen, not even a normal Quebecois in Montreal. And I told the police to help me. The police were for sure Francophone, and they are not as friendly as those in Montreal, they treated me badly. After I got my things back, I asked an allophone where could I take a bus from there, he answered, "Why should a poor cowboy from middle of nowhere crossing this border? Find that yourself! Poor cowboy!"

:rofl: And my wife has relatives in Mont Laurier... we have to watch out ;)

What about their struggle for independence? Is it still a topic? I remember in the 70s and 80s we always heard about it.

Actually, there is very good electronic stuff in Ciudad Del Este.

The fact is that EVERYTHIGN in Paraguay is much cheaper than in Brasil, cuz Brasil has lots of taxes above EVERYTHING, unlike Paraguay. So brazilians cross the border to buy electronic equipment and sell it in Brasil. Even if the smugglers get their share, its still much cheaper than buying the same thing inside Brasil.

Some brazilian companies sell their products to Paraguay (no taxes) and the products are smuggled back into Brasil, thus custing cheaper than if they were sold directly to Brasil, when they would be subject to many more taxes.

Ciudad Del Este's economy is actually a less developed version of laissez-faire economy, i.e. have very low tax rates, low restriction, wages are set by the market, not much welfare... if Paraguay could become a developed country, certainly this would be the most popular cities in whole nation.

I am not sure about comparisons between with the Mexico-USA or even more with the US-Quebec border. I really don't think the situation is the same.

As Aceshigh said, electronics are very cheap for Brazilians in Ciudad Del Este. I went with some Brazilians who bought 2 DVD players. I personally bought a Memory card for my digital camera. However, I am not sure that prices are substantially cheaper compared to the United States, it's cheaper for Brazilians due to taxes.

Ciudad Del Este's economy is actually a less developed version of laissez-faire economy...

and a laissez-faire border too ! :runaway:

The Iguacu Falls are definitely on my must-visit list on my huge South America tour in the summer 2007.

As far as I know the brazilian side has an airport. Does anyone know from which cities you can fly to the Falls? Rio de Janeiro? Sao Paulo? Curitiba?

You fly generally from Curitiba - but you have good connections from all main Brazilian cities to there (needless to say that the city itself is also a MUST on every Brazilian trip ;)). The flight is not very long the landing is spectacular - thanks to the protection of the forest around the falls which is a national park (on both sides of the border).

About electronics: it's really true, I was surprised that in Brazil where everything is normally cheaper than in Europe especially electronics and books (!!! That is an absolute shame for a country that is afraid to fall again into a high % of illiterate people) are very expensive. Best prices have the Koreans in Paulista I think. But I know that lots of Brazilians cross the border for hifis and digicams etc.