Itaipu Dam

Itaipu spans the Parana river between Paraguay and Brazil and remains one of the largest hydroelectric plants on the planet - for years it traded the title of biggest annual generator with China's Three Gorges, and it supplies the great majority of Paraguay's electricity with plenty left to export. The scale is the attraction: a structure nearly eight kilometres long and almost 200 metres high, with tours running along the crest and, on the technical version, into the cathedral-sized turbine hall. Floodlit evening visits and a dam-side wildlife refuge round out the visitor side.

History

Brazil and Paraguay signed the Iguaçu Act on 22 July 1966 to study the hydropower of the Paraná they shared, and the Itaipu Treaty followed on 26 April 1973, with Itaipu Binacional created on 17 May 1974 to build and run the plant. The river was diverted on 14 October 1978 so the dam could be built in its bed, and the reservoir began to fill on 13 October 1982, rising 100 metres; the name comes from an island near the site, Guarani for "sounding stone" (Wikipedia, Itaipu Dam).

What you'll find

• The panoramic tour - buses along the crest with the reservoir on one side and the drop on the other.
• The technical tour - inside the structure to the turbine hall.
• Spillway releases - thunderous when gates are open after rains.
• The Tati Yupi refuge - the wildlife reserve on the Paraguayan side.

When to go

The drier, cooler months from May to September are most comfortable. Spillway operation depends on river levels and is not scheduled - seeing it is luck. Book the technical tour ahead with a passport; the panoramic tour takes walk-ups most days.

Before you go

It is an industrial site with an industrial aesthetic - visitors expecting scenery will find concrete, albeit astonishing concrete. Tours run to fixed schedules with security checks and dress rules for the technical version. Ciudad del Este itself is a chaotic border-commerce city most travellers pass through quickly. The Brazilian side runs its own tours; tickets are separate.

Nearby

The Monday falls, Ciudad del Este's markets and the Brazilian border to Iguazu.

Key facts