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.

What you actually see

• 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.

Honest expectations

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.