Ciudad del Este, Ponte da Amizade and Saltos del Monday (Paraguay) Day Trip Guide

While millions of travellers visit the Brazilian and Argentine waterfalls of the Iguaçu River, remarkably few realise that the third country of the Triple Frontier holds its own dramatic basalt canyon waterfall just 10 kilometres across the Paraná River. On a half- or full-day trip from Foz do Iguaçu, you can cross the historic 1965 Friendship Bridge (Ponte Internacional da Amizade) into Paraguay, experience the commercial energy of Ciudad del Este, and stand before the 40-metre cascades of Saltos del Monday in Presidente Franco.

Crossing the Ponte Internacional da Amizade (1965) to Ciudad del Este

Designed by Brazilian structural engineer José Rodrigues Leite de Almeida and inaugurated on 27 March 1965, the Ponte Internacional da Amizade (Puente de la Amistad) stretches 552.4 metres high above the deep gorge of the Paraná River. Its soaring 290-metre central reinforced-concrete arch was the longest concrete arch span on earth when completed.

At the western end of the bridge lies Ciudad del Este (founded on 3 February 1957 as Puerto Flor de Lis and later Puerto Presidente Stroessner), Paraguay's second-largest city and one of the largest tax-free commercial zones in the Americas. If you cross for electronics or department-store shopping at multi-storey malls such as Cellshop, Shopping Paris, Monalisa, or Shopping China, go between 08:00 and 14:00 from Monday to Saturday, pay in US dollars, Brazilian reais, or Pix, and carry your passport.

Saltos del Monday (Presidente Franco): Paraguay's Hidden Waterfall

Ten kilometres south of the Friendship Bridge in the neighbouring municipality of Presidente Franco, the Monday River (Río Monday, pronounced Mon-dah-ee in Guarani, meaning "river of currents") carves through a 9-hectare remnant of Atlantic Forest before joining the Paraná River just upstream from Marco das Três Fronteiras.

• Three 40-Metre Basalt Cataracts: At Parque Municipal Monday (and the adjacent Aventura Monday eco-park), the river plunges more than 40 metres (130 feet) over a 120-metre-wide cliff of black hexagonal columnar basalt in three powerful main falls (Salto Principal, Garganta del Diablo, and Salto Menor).
• Walkways and Panoramic Elevator: Shaded forest walkways and upper balconies trace the top lip of the cascades, while a glass-walled cliff elevator descends to a platform at the river level right in front of the roaring spray. Because Saltos del Monday receives a fraction of the visitor numbers of Iguaçu Falls, you can often enjoy the viewpoints in near-complete quiet.

Combining Saltos del Monday with Paraguayan Itaipu and Chipa

An accredited Foz do Iguaçu taxi or private driver can take you across the Friendship Bridge directly to Saltos del Monday, stop at the green lakeside park of Lago de la República and the Guarani-inspired San Blas Cathedral in Ciudad del Este, and continue north to Hernandarias for the Paraguayan side's Museo de la Tierra Guaraní at Itaipu, stopping for hot Paraguayan chipa and sopa paraguaia along the way.