Ciudad del Este
Introduction
Ciudad del Este sits on the Paraná River in eastern Paraguay, close to the border with Brazil and connected to it by the Friendship Bridge. It is the capital of the Alto Paraná Department and the largest city in the Triple Frontier region, where Paraguay meets Brazil and Argentina near the towns of Foz do Iguaçu and Puerto Iguazú.
The city is a natural base for exploring some of South America's most famous sights: the Itaipú Dam, one of the world's largest hydroelectric power plants, and Iguazu Falls are both nearby. Asunción, Paraguay's capital, lies to the west.
Before you go
Ciudad del Este is a bilingual city where Spanish and Portuguese are spoken side by side, and many locals also know Guaraní, making them trilingual. Arabic and Chinese are commonly heard in the downtown shopping arcades, run largely by the city's Arab and Asian communities, while English is generally limited to hotels and travel agencies. The city is known as ciudad jardín for its many parks and green areas, and its metro area includes the districts of Presidente Franco, Hernandarias and Minga Guazú.
Be aware that Ciudad del Este can be a little more dangerous than other cities in Paraguay, with dark alleys and heavy foot traffic around the border. If you stay alert and avoid dark places at night, you should be safe. The weather is not described in the source; pack for a subtropical climate and check forecasts before you travel.
Getting there
Ciudad del Este sits at the meeting point of three countries, and the way you arrive shapes how much border paperwork you will deal with. The most common approach is across the Puente de la Amistad (Friendship Bridge), which links the city to Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil, with frequent buses and the occasional taxi making the crossing; buses also run to and from Puerto Iguazú in Argentina. A bus from the Puerto Iguazú terminal, marked "Foz, Puerto Iguazú, Ciudad del Este" or simply "Paraguay", leaves from platform 7 every hour and takes roughly 45 minutes to the bridge, though you must get off at the Argentine border crossing for an exit stamp before reboarding. If you need a visa for Brazil and do not have one, confirm before boarding that the bus will carry you all the way across the bridge into Ciudad del Este. Further south, where the Rio Paraná and Rio Iguaçu meet, an hourly daylight ferry crosses to Puerto Iguazú without entering Brazilian territory; both sides have immigration facilities, so it works as an official border crossing as well as a day trip. From the centre on Avenida General Bernardino Caballero, take a bus labelled Tres Fronteras and ask to be dropped at la balsa.
Long-distance buses reach the Terminal de Omnibus, a short distance south of the centre near Avenida Bernardino Caballero and beside the 3 de Febrero football stadium, with frequent services from Asunción and Encarnación, plus international connections from São Paulo and Florianópolis. Guaraní International Airport, in neighbouring Minga Guazú, has domestic flights from Asunción and Pedro Juan Caballero; from there you can take a taxi or the once-daily Minga Guazú bus into the city. On the borders themselves, rules differ for locals and visitors: locals may cross and stay up to 24 hours on either side without reporting to immigration or even carrying a passport, but as a foreign visitor you must get stamped in and out of each country. Many nationalities now receive a free 90-day stay stamp, but do not rely on buses or taxis to stop for you — they often bypass immigration, and entering Brazil without a stamp can mean a bribe if you are stopped later. Paraguay will not stamp you in unless you have legally left Brazil, and guards are known to stop tourists trying to leave without the proper stamps, so keep your entry and exit stamps in order.
Getting around
Ciudad del Este has no metro, tram or passenger rail system, so you plan your movements around road transport. Local city buses are plentiful and the main form of public transport; fares are low, paid in cash to the driver's assistant, who comes around to collect payment and give change. Because buses fill up quickly and traffic moves fast, it is common and accepted to sit down first and pay once the assistant reaches you. Buses toward Hernandarias serve the Itaipú attractions and cost a little more than a standard city fare. The main bus terminal sits south of the centre, near Avenida Bernardino Caballero and next to the 3 de Febrero football stadium, with long-distance services to Asunción and Encarnación and international connections to Brazilian destinations including São Paulo and Florianópolis. For the ferry crossing to Puerto Iguazú, take a bus labelled Tres Fronteras from Avenida General Bernardino Caballero and ask to be dropped at the ferry landing. Taxis are widely available but unmetered, so always agree on a price before getting in. Drivers commonly try to overcharge foreigners, either by quoting an inflated fare up front or by claiming at the end of the trip that a higher fare was agreed; paying with exact change, or close to it, gives you leverage if the driver tries to raise the price afterwards. Ask your hotel in advance what normal fares should be for your route so you have a benchmark, and note that a sign at the bus station lists prices to typical destinations. Motorcycle taxis are common and a fast way to cut through the heavy traffic near the Puente de la Amistad; drivers are usually identifiable by their reflective shirts and should provide you with a helmet. Taxis sometimes make the trans-border trip to Brazil, which can be convenient if you are heading to Foz do Iguaçu. The city centre is compact enough that walking is practical for short trips, and walking is also the standard way to handle border crossings when a bus does not take you all the way through — at the Friendship Bridge, for example, you may need to get off and walk through immigration on foot. If you arrive with your own car, expect to use a parking lot rather than finding easy street parking; local touts will often direct you to one, though you can also research lots in advance. From Guaraní International Airport in neighbouring Minga Guazú, you can take a taxi with the fare agreed in advance, or the Minga Guazú bus, which leaves the airport toward the city once a day in the early afternoon and is by far the cheaper choice; because it runs only once daily, most visitors arriving at other times will need a taxi. Carry small cash for buses and taxis, and if you plan to cross into Brazil or Argentina, sort out your immigration stamps properly — buses and taxis may bypass immigration, leaving you without proof of legal entry.Where to stay
< p>Most of Ciudad del Este's places to sleep cluster either downtown or around the main Bus Terminal, and the two areas suit different trips. Downtown puts you near the shops and the border, while the terminal area is handy if you are arriving or leaving by bus. Budget options are simple but serviceable: Hotel Guarania & Restaurant sits centrally, very close to the border bridge, and is a friendly choice with air-conditioned rooms. Hotel Tía Nancy, just south-west of the main Bus Terminal, is friendly and cheap but slightly grubby, with fan rooms. Hotel Caribe on Emiliano R. Fernández offers clean, comfortable rooms in a new building with air-conditioning, hot water and cable TV, and Hotel Postillon, slightly south of the terminal, has air-conditioning, hot water, television and clean rooms in a building being refurbished. < p>Mid-range hotels are concentrated on and around Emiliano R. Fernández and downtown. Hotel Munich and Hotel Austria both sit on Emiliano R. Fernández between Cap. Miranda and Mongelos, with air-conditioned doubles; Austria also keeps a very basic room in a side area off its parking garage. In the downtown core, Hotel San Rafael on Av. Adrian Jara y Avay is a good hotel with cable TV, air-conditioning, private bath and a telephone with direct calls, while Hotel Mi Abuela on Av. Adrian Jara, close to the corner with Pioneros del Este, is pleasant and, like many mid-range places here, lays on a good breakfast buffet.Food & drink
Because street-front property commands a premium, Ciudad del Este's eateries cluster inside multi-level shopping malls and are relatively scarce along the main street of San Blas. The city's immigrant communities have left their mark on the menu: Arab food, including good shawarma and kebab to go, appears off the main streets and in many shopping centres, and Chinese and Korean restaurants are also found. Thanks to the daily influx of Brazilian nationals, the most popular restaurants serve typical Brazilian fare and are easy to find. Asking a local to point you to the nearest restaurant is your best bet.
- For better-looking Asian restaurants, explore around the corner of Adrian Jara and Av. Boquerón; US-style burger houses are nearby.
- Above the "Area Iris" supermarket (corner of Av. Pioneros del Este and Adrian Jara) is a good but relatively expensive Japanese restaurant; the supermarket itself stocks food and supplies, and cheap hotdogs are sold outside.
- Street vendors grill delicious, cheap asado at night on Cap. Miranda, just north of the main route through town, served with manioc.
- Vegetarians should ask around: a few vegetarian Chinese restaurants lie outside the city centre, and an Indian vegetarian restaurant called Gourangas sits behind the Municipalidad, not far from the centre.
Food from street vendors is best eaten well heated rather than merely warmed. As with most businesses in the city, you can pay in Argentine, US, Paraguayan or Brazilian currency and expect change in the currency you used.
What to see and do
The city’s headline sight is the Itaipú dam, and the operator runs several ways to see it. The simplest is the free Panoramic tour, a short bus circuit with a video and a lookout over the spillway; more detailed Special and Technical visits, which take smaller groups and can include the inside of the dam and its turbines, need booking about a week ahead. Bring your passport, since identification is required, and note that some attractions, including the Tati Yupi reserve, need registration in advance. Near the visitor centre you can also see a large scale model of the dam and the Museo de la Tierra Guaraní, a small museum on Guaraní culture and local wildlife with descriptions in English and Spanish. In summer, the light show illuminating the dam runs on weekend evenings with prior registration. Away from the dam, the standout natural sight is Salto del Monday near Presidente Franco, a wide waterfall with two drops; two private operators grant access, one with a top view close to the drop and an extra-cost elevator to the bottom, the other with a staircase down to a platform at the base. The Three Borders Landmark, where the Iguazú meets the Paraná, is reachable by bus from the centre and gives a head-on view of the river gorge. For wildlife, the Refugio Biológico Tati Yupi preserves a patch of Atlantic Forest with trails, camping and picnic facilities, and birds, capuchin monkeys, armadillos and capibara; permits must be arranged at least a day ahead, and there is no direct public transport, so you will need a taxi for the final stretch.When to go
Ciudad del Este has a humid subtropical climate, so the weather shapes how you plan your days. Summer is hot and humid, and the humidity often turns the heat suffocating, leaving sticky, draining conditions. Plan around the worst of the daytime warmth rather than trying to push through it.
Winter is temperate but irregular, so a visit can bring anything from chilly nights to warm days. Snow is extraordinarily rare here, having fallen only once, in 1982. Rain is spread through the year, so whatever season you choose, be ready for wet weather.
Three days in Ciudad del Este
Day one: Start in the city itself, getting your bearings along Avenida General Bernardino Caballero, the main artery where the commercial life of Ciudad del Este is concentrated. The city sits in Alto Paraná Department, close to the Paraná River and the border with Brazil, and you will quickly notice the mix of languages spoken around you — Spanish, Portuguese, Guaraní, Arabic, Chinese and English among them. Cross the Friendship Bridge, known locally as the Puente de la Amistad, to the Brazilian side and the city of Foz do Iguaçu, then continue to the Argentine side at Puerto Iguazú, where the Triple Frontier of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina meets.
Day two: Give the day to Itaipú Dam, one of the largest hydroelectric projects in South America, and to the rivers that define the region — the Paraná and the Iguaçu. The dam lies near Hernandarias, within reach of the city, and the surrounding area takes in Presidente Franco and Minga Guazú. Further along the Río Paraná you can trace how the water shapes the borderland between Paraguay and its neighbours.
Day three: Head for Iguazu Falls, the great cascade on the Río Iguaçu shared by Brazil and Argentina. Base yourself around Foz do Iguaçu or Puerto Iguazú and spend the day on the walkways and viewpoints that face the falls from both the Brazilian and Argentine sides. If time allows, look toward Asunción as your onward link within Paraguay, or simply return to Ciudad del Este for a last evening in the city.