Long before the Spanish explorer Don Alvar Nuñes reached South America's greatest waterfall in 1541, the local indians had named it Iguaçu - meaning great waters. There is no more fitting description, as thousands of visitors to Iguassú each year will testify. Once seen, the falls - all 275 of them - are never forgotten. The two-mile wide curtain of water crashing 300ft over a series of precipices into a spray-filled gorge constitutes the most spectacular sight of southern Brazil and probably the whole of South America.

Climate
The region's climate is subtropical, mesothermal, with rains distributed over every month of the year. During the hot summer, the temperature ranges from 22ºC to 35ºC, and in the winter from 5ºC to 22º C.

How to get there
By Air: there are flights to Foz do Iguaçu from any Brazilian city, most with connections.
By Highway: from Curitiba, travel along the BR-227 (Curitiba - Assuncion) Federal Highway. There are 632 km of highway. Foz do Iguaçu is in the extreme West of Paraná, 640 km from Curitiba.
Main highways:
- From Curitiba: BR-277 Federal Highway
- From São Paulo: BR-116/BR-277 Federal Highways
- From Rio de Janeiro: BR-116/BR277 Federal Highways