Itaipu Dam

Excursion in Iguassu Falls

Tour Price : Tickets for the Special Visit R$30 - U$16 Duration : Normal Visit: 2h - Special Visit: 3h Languages: English, Espanish, Portuguese

Itaipu Dam is a concrete structure built to contain the flow of the Parana River and create the power plant's reservoir. It is the point where electricity generating units are installed.

1 - Panoramic Visit From the central belvedere, people have a panoramic view of the power plant featuring the dam and spillway. Visits are made on Itaipu buses (for visitors travelling on their own) or on tourist buses, for those on organized tours. A documentary on Itaipu is shown prior to the departure. The tour lasts approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes and is available on both sides of the border. In Brazil, visitors can also choose to take the Combined Power Plant/Eco-museum Tour, which includes a stop at the Eco-museum after seeing the power plant, on their own or with the Combined Power Plant/Biological Sanctuary Tour, where they walk two kilometres along an eco-trail inside the Bela Vista Sanctuary. 

2 - Special Visit Beyond the prior documentary the visitors will have access technical information, It is a seven-stop tour.

- Central Belvedere and Poty's Panel Station Visitors enjoy a panoramic view of the dam and the spillway. And see a tile panel depicting awe-inspiring scenes from the time Itaipu was under construction, created by Paraná artist Poty Lazzarotto.

- Concrete Dam Station from the top of the dam where the generating units' water intake gates are located, visitors enjoy a privileged view of the power plant's reservoir and the Paraná River, which resumes its course once it leaves the dam behind.

- Cathedral Station: once inside the dam, visitors discover the hollow architecture similar to that of a cathedral. They also walk by ducts (huge white "tubes") through which up to 700 thousand litres of water flow per second, or half the flow of the Iguazu Falls within each one. They also see the former Paraná River bed.

- Production Building Station: this building holds the equipment that keeps the power plant in operation, including the generating units.

- Central Command Room Station: right before the eyes of visitors, technicians control the power plant's operation by means of computers and electronic panels. A yellow strip on the floor represents the border between Brazil and Paraguay. The divide is merely symbolic as the power plant belongs to both countries.

- Outflow Channel Station: from this viewpoint visitors watch the water that went through the turbines and flows back into the Paraná River and follows its natural course.

- Gallery Station: Workers riding bikes or driving small electric cars give a sense of this gallery's dimension, which is one kilometre long. The covers of the 20 generating units can be seen.

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