Southern Brazil - Iguassu Falls

By Christopher Minster

Minster

Mighty waterfalls, pleasant beaches, and the best Oktoberfest outside of Germany await the visitor to Brazil’s southern states.  The region is comprised of the states of Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina. The mighty waterfalls of Iguassu are found here, at the spot where Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay share a border.  The name Iguassu comes from the Guarani word for “great water.”  Two-thirds of the falls area is considered to be in Argentine territory, but there is still plenty to see on the Brazilian side.  Made famous by the movie The Mission, the falls are an awesome force of nature: the falls area is 2.5 miles long, 169 feet high, and comprised of over 250 individual cascades.   On the average, more than 550 cubic feet of water passes over the falls every second. 

Unlike Niagara Falls, which is heavily developed, Iguassu (Foz do Iguaçu in Portuguese) is surrounded by pristine parks on all sides.  Once you’ve finished gawking at the falls (which may take a while), you can visit the parks themselves, which are home to a number of animal and bird species.  

After seeing the falls, the visitor to southern Brazil may want to visit the city of Blumenau, a Bavarian-looking city complete with breweries, elegant old buildings, beer gardens, etc.  It was founded in 1850 by Dr. Hermann Bruno Otto Blumenau, a German who was offered a large chunk of land if he would settle it with Europeans.  He began with seventeen German families, but the city soon grew and the Germans were later joined by waves of European immigrants, mostly Italian and Polish.  The city is known for its Oktoberfest, billed as one of the largest in the world.  Some estimate that 500,000 people will visit the city during this time. 

If you’ve seen the falls and drank your fill of beer, it’s time to head to the beach.  Florianopolis, a.k.a. Floripa, is the island capital of Santa Catarina and is convenient to many excellent white sand beaches.  Most noteworthy is the beach at Joaquina, known for surfing and “dune-boarding,” which, as the name suggests, is sort of like snowboarding on sand dunes.  Floripa also has many old forts, as the city was heavily fortified against pirates during its early history.