Alto Paraná Department
Alto Paraná Department, Administrative department in eastern Paraguay
Alto Paraná is an administrative department in eastern Paraguay, comprising twenty-two districts and bordering Brazil and Argentina. The capital, Ciudad del Este, sits on the bank of the Paraná River and serves as the economic hub of the region.
The territory was established as a separate department in 1945, having previously been part of other administrative units. In the following decades, settlers from the interior of the country and from neighboring nations moved here, drawn by agriculture and commerce.
The name comes from the river that forms the eastern boundary of the department, running along the Brazilian frontier for much of its length. In the capital, Paraguayan, Brazilian, Chinese and Korean communities mix in daily life, and their languages can be heard on the streets and inside shops.
The border bridge to the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguaçu is open daily for pedestrian and vehicle traffic, though waiting times can occur on busy days. In the southern districts of the department, quieter rural areas offer access to natural sites and farmland.
The Itaipu Dam, partly located on the department's territory, ranks among the largest hydroelectric facilities in the world and supplies most of the country with energy. Parts of the region's original forests have been placed under protection after clearing for agriculture and infrastructure led to losses.
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Iguaçu Falls
26.8 km
Itaipu Dam
12.1 km
Devil's Throat
27 km
Friendship Bridge
1.4 km
Iguaçu National Park
26.2 km
Saltos del Monday
5.7 km
Feirinha Puerto Iguazú
9.8 km
Tancredo Neves Bridge
9.9 km
Itaipu Reservoir
55.3 km
Buddhist Temple of Foz do Iguaçu
4.7 km
Parque das Aves
17.2 kmInternational Bridge of Integration
8.6 km
Rainforest Ecological Train
25.2 kmScientific Monument Moises Bertoni
16.4 km
Omar Ibn Al-Khatab Mosque
3.7 km
Isla de San Martín
25.9 kmReserva Itabó
55.5 km
Iglesia Catedral San Blas
786 mTatí Yupí Refuge
16.9 kmEcomuseu de Itaipu
7.2 kmParque Provincial Puerto Península
22.5 kmReserva natural Morombí
133.6 km
Trinational Biodiversity Corridor
9 kmReserva Natural de la Defensa de Puerto Península
21.2 kmSanta Maria Ecological Corridor
26.5 km
Estadio Juan Eudes Pereira
4.6 kmIguazú National Reserve
20.2 kmPlaza Jesuítica
6.7 km
Ciudad del Este
Doctor Juan León Mallorquín District
Doctor Raúl Peña
Domingo Martínez de Irala
Hernandarias District
Iruña
Itakyry
Juan E. O' Leary
Los Cedrales District
Mbaracayú
Minga Guazú
Minga Porá District
Naranjal District
Ñacunday
Presidente Franco District
San Alberto
Santa Fe del Paraná
Santa Rita
Santa Rosa del Monday
Tavapy
Yguazú District
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