Itaipu Dam

Itaipu was built between 1975 and 1982 as a joint Brazilian and Paraguayan project, and it is nearly eight kilometres long and about a hundred and ninety-six metres high, with twenty generating units split evenly between the two countries. For decades it was the largest hydroelectric producer in the world by annual output, a position it has since traded with the Three Gorges dam in China, though Itaipu has continued to set records for annual generation in some years. It supplies a large share of Paraguay's electricity and a substantial share of Brazil's. The reservoir flooded Sete Quedas, a set of falls on the Parana that had been larger in volume than Iguacu, and displaced around forty thousand people - both facts are part of the record here.

What you actually see

• Eight kilometres of dam - 196 metres high across the Parana.
• Twenty units, two countries - generation split evenly with Paraguay.
• A record-setting producer - among the highest annual output anywhere.
• What the reservoir covered - the drowned Sete Quedas falls and displaced towns.

When to go

All year. Half a day. The spillway only opens when the reservoir is high.

Honest expectations

Tours are timetabled and the technical circuit that goes inside the structure must be booked ahead and has age limits. The spillway is dry most of the year, which disappoints people expecting the photographs. Security screening applies and identification is required.

Nearby

Iguacu Falls are south; Ciudad del Este in Paraguay is across the bridge.