Prudentopolis

The escarpment north of Prudentopolis drops sharply, and the rivers coming off it produce something over a hundred waterfalls, several of them very tall - Salto Sao Francisco at about a hundred and ninety-six metres is the highest in southern Brazil, and Salto Barao do Rio Branco and Salto Sao Joao are close behind. Most sit on private land, reached down rough tracks, and are visited with local operators rather than independently. The town itself is the other half of the visit: Prudentopolis was settled by Ukrainian immigrants from the 1890s, a majority of the population claims that descent, the language is still taught and heard, and the Byzantine-rite churches are painted inside with iconography that is genuinely unexpected in the Parana interior.

History

In 1882 road building in central Paraná drew the first families, among them Firmo Mendes de Queiroz, a descendant of bandeirantes, who farmed here and built a chapel around which grew a place known as Vilinha. In 1894 the government decided to colonise the area, and the owner of the colony, Cândido Ferreira de Abreu, renamed it Prudentópolis in honour of President Prudente de Morais; in 1895 some 1,500 Ukrainian families, about 8,000 people, most of them from the Ternopil region, came to settle it, and immigration continued until the 1920s (Wikipedia, Prudentópolis).

What you'll find

• Salto Sao Francisco - about 196 metres, the tallest fall in southern Brazil.
• Over a hundred waterfalls - rivers dropping off the escarpment around the town.
• Painted Byzantine-rite churches - Ukrainian iconography in the interior.
• A Ukrainian-speaking town - settlement dating from the 1890s.

When to go

April to September; falls are fullest a day or two after rain. Two days.

What to expect

Falls are on private land with individual fees and rough access tracks - 4x4 and a local guide are effectively required. Viewpoints involve steep descents. Flow drops considerably in dry spells. The town has limited accommodation.

Nearby

Guarapuava is west; Curitiba is east on the BR-373.