Hi Peter & everyone,

Thanks for your tips.

I'm in Asuncion. It's been a very warm and hilly ride since Juan Pedro.
The capital city is currently baking in 41°C heat.
I camped a few times along the way but it's difficult to fall asleep with temperatures hardly dropping at night
Rural hotels/hospedajes have been a blessing. They're cheap, ubiquitous and always have AC.

To get to the Falls I'll try to use the backroads where available.
I'm planning to visit both sides.

Any nice route you'd recommend through southern Brazil ( Parana, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul as far as the Uruguayan border ) ?
Looks like I can either hug the coast down or ride inland through the Serra do Mar.

Levelo.

Levelo,

41°C -- WOW! You could cook an egg on the tarmac.

I was on a schedule to meet my wife in Buenos Aires for Christmas, so my ride through southern Brazil in 2012 was a blur. Nothing special to report after hanging out with a motorcycle club in Florianópolis.

Given you are going to Iguazú and are headed south from there, I have a strong recommendation. Go to Saltos del Moconá! Moconá (Yucumã on the Brazilian side) is the world's longest vertical waterfall. Between 2-3 km wide.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/svNSjCerdfdwpY737

On the Argentine side, there is a tour service that will take you down the river on a Zodiac (inflatable boat.) From studying Google Maps and researching the area, approaching the falls from the Brazilian side appears to mean hiking through a park. We decided to get there would be easier on the Argentine side and rented a car in Puerto Iguazú, AR (a 4-5 hour drive.) I don't know if there is a boat tour available on the Brazilian side or if there are any services.

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltos_del_Mocon%C3%A1

The rainfall needs to be considered. If you are in the rainy season, the water below the falls rises and there is very little or no waterfall. =( By late April there could be a lot of rain or only some. I suggest checking with the Argentina tourist office or perhaps a hotel near Moconá to learn the height of the waterfall. Brazilian friends of mine rode there in October 2023 and there from Curitiba, Brazil, and there were zero waterfalls. I remember the day they left for the trip, it was raining hard. We went to Moconá Falls in December 2018 after visiting Iguazú. There were falls at that time of year...

https://weatherspark.com/y/29626/Ave...20Chapec%C3%B3

(Sorry for the slow reply.)

__________________
Peter B
2008/09 - NJ to Costa Rica and back to NJ
2012/13 - NJ to Northern Argentina, Jamaica, Cuba and back to NJ
2023 - Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia...back to Peru.

Blogs: Peter's Ride

Ola Peter & everyone,

I'm on the coast in Imbituba, 100 kms south of Florianopolis. I've been lent a summer house for as long as I want, and it feels good to be relaxing here

The Falls were great.

To make it to the coast I first went through the beautiful National Park on the Argentinian side of the river. There is a 50 km dirt track that cuts through the jungle.

I crossed back into Brazil at the Comandante Andresitos/Capanema small border post, then pedaled through what I imagined would be the backroads of southern Parana. It turned out be a hellish hilly ride, with lots of traffic and no shoulder most of the time. Southern Brazil has plenty of aggressive drivers, and lots of them thought I was a nuisance in their way.
This part of the country is one of the most stressful places I have ever ridden through.

Santa Catarina was a bit better, with less soy fields, more forest and cooler air up in the mountains.

I'm still undecided as to which route to pick from here to the Uruguayan border. It's either the road along the coast, which I've been told is quiet south of Porto Alegre, or back inland through the more challenging southern part of the Serra Geral in Rio Grande do Sul ( Canion de Itaimbezinho, Canela, Gramado, Nova Petropolis... ).

Levelo.