Iguaçu National Park

(Local Name: Parque Nacional do Iguaçu) Iguaçu National Park

The falls lie within the Iguaçu National Park (Parque Nacional do Iguaçu; established 1939), 28km/17mi east of Foz do Iguaçu, which has been under UNESCO protection since 1986.

The National Park, of which 170,086 hectares/420,000 acres are in Brazil and 55,000 hectares/136,000 acres in Argentina, is the largest forest reserve in the south of the country. The subtropical rain forests are the home of some 1100 species of birds and large and small mammals (deer, otters, ocelots, capybaras, etc.). From the town an expressway, the Rodovia das Cataratas, runs past the airport and the new Convention Center and through the park to the falls. The