Iguaçu National Park, National park in southern Brazil.
Iguaçu National Park contains more than 270 waterfalls cascading along the Iguaçu River across several kilometers, with the water creating the natural boundary between Brazil and Argentina. The park features wooden walkways and viewing platforms positioned at different heights to experience the falls from multiple angles.
The park was established as a protected area in 1939 to safeguard one of South America's largest tropical forest reserves. Over the decades, it has grown into one of the world's most visited natural sites while continuing to protect the region's ecological wealth.
The name Iguaçu comes from the Tupi-Guarani words for "big water"; the falls lie on the Iguazu River, whose 50 square kilometres inside the park include the falls themselves. The park is the most important in the Prata Basin, and its 1981 management plan was the first drawn up for a Brazilian park.
Visit early in the morning when light is best and crowds are smaller, making photography and viewing more enjoyable. The wooden pathways are well-maintained, but expect wet conditions and slippery surfaces, especially near the larger cascades.
The park protects the entire basin of the Floriano River, a tributary of the Iguaçu whose springs lie near the BR-277 highway between Céu Azul and Santa Terezinha de Itaipu. Its water quality is rare for southern Brazil. The Santa Maria Ecological Corridor links the park to the protected margins of Lake Itaipu.
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