Paraná, the state south of São Paulo has two outstanding regions to visit:

One is the city of Curitiba, the capital, not far from the coast.

The other place to visit in the inner of the state, at the border to Paraguay and Argentina, are the world famous waterfalls of Foz do Iguaçu.

map of Paraná

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Curitiba

Curitiba is the capital of the state of Paraná, largest city in Southern Brazil (1.6 million inhabitants) and also the largest economy. It is situated about 90 kms from the coast, in a height of 900 m.
The city is famous for being a very green city with many parks and lakes, also being the most ecologic city in Brazil, with a very good bus system, a high rate of recycling and spending a lot for education.
Worthwhile is a visit of the Jardim Botanico (botanic garden), the by a pleasant and green environment surrounded Ópera de Arame, the Museum Oscar Niemeyer (MON), Praça Garibaldi (Garibaldi Square), Bosque João Paulo II (Park Pope John Paul II), the historic center and much more.

Something very special is a trip by train. You shouldn´t forget your camera taking the Serra Verde Express, going through tunnels, over bridges and close along the mountains through the Mata Atlântica (rain forest). If possible, you should take the train on a Sunday, then going down to the coast, ending in Paranaguá. There you can stay a day or more, also visit the Ilha do Mel (Honey Island) that is a biosphere reservate.

Curitiba in Google Maps

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Hotels

We can arrange everything, the search and booking for a hotel as well as the transfer to and from the region or to other places in Brazil.

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Foz do Iguaçu

Foz do Iguaçu is the Brazilian city at the famous waterfalls of Iguaçu and at the borders to Paraguay and Argentina. The waterfalls are higher than the Victoria Falls, wider than the Niagara Falls, they are the most exciting. They are in the list of UNESCO World Heritage (the small national park in Argentina since 1984. the Brazilian national park since 1986). The water falls about 80 meters deep on a range of about 2700 meters, in more than 270 cascades. The name of the river comes fron the native tribe of the Guarani, in their language the word Yguazu means “big water”.

At the falls you will see millions of butterflies, many birds, if you are lucky sometimes monkees and caimans (but no reason to have fear, you are safe). It is home to many rare and endangered species of flora and fauna, among them the giant otter and the giant anteater. The clouds of spray produced by the waterfall are conducive to the growth of lush vegetation.
A part of the falls is on the Argentinian side, the other part on the Brazilian. For the Argentinian side you should plan a complete day in the national park there, on the Brazilian half a day. There, close to the entrance of the national park is a marvellous small zoo mainly with birds and plants of the region.

Another interesting place is Itaipu, the still largest hydroelectric plant in the world, producing 90% of the needed electricity of Paraguay and 20% of the need of Brazil. The dam has a lenght of 7235 m,and a height of 195 m. The water passing is 40 times as much as the average flow at the waterfalls of Iguaçu . It can be visited by day, but in the evening it will be illuminated. More information: see links below

Iguaçu in Google Maps

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Hotels

We can arrange everything, the search and booking for a hotel as well as the transfer to and from the region or to other places in Brazil.

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Photos

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