Location: Ñacunday, Alto Paraná Department Map
Area: 2000 hectares
Nacunday National Park or Parque Nacional Ñacunday is located near Ñacunday, Alto Paraná Department in Paraguay. The park covers an area of 2000 hectares. Its most famous feature of Nacunday National Park is Salto Ñacunday Waterfall on Ñacunday river that becomes a tributary of Parana river. It is over 100 meters wide and its tallest drop is over 30 meters. The average temperature in this Paraguayan national park is around 21.5 °C. The average annual rainfall ranges from 1,500 to 1,700 mm. It is prohibited for tourists to collect firewood, fruits, plants in the nature reserve. Although the exception to this are local natives who use the fruits of the land for their religious purposes and sustain themselves. The entrance of the park is located about 90 km from Ciudad del Este. Take an asphalt road to Cedrales and then take a gravel road to get to the entrance of the park. There is not much development here. You might need to ask for help from the local population.
Weather
It has a tropical climate, with abundant and well
distributed rainfall, with an average of 1,500 to 1,700 mm per year,
the average temperature is 21.5 ° C, with prevailing winds from the
North Quadrant, which corresponds to the biogeographic location of
Brazilian Rain Forest , Ecoregion: Alto Paraná.
Flora
The
dominant vegetation of the Ñacunday National Park is an Intermediate
Forest, composed of trees that generally vary between 15 and 20
meters, with abundance of species of the Meliaceae families such as
the cedar (Cedrela fissilis), Katigua Pytâ (Trichilia catigua)
Palmae family that It composes the palm (Euterpe edulis) and the
Myrtaceae Family consisting of ñangapiry (Eugenia uniflora),
yvaporaity (Myrciaria rivularis) followed by the tall forest with
trees, composed exclusively of broadleaved species. This type of
forest mass is recognizable by its general appearance and
physiognomy, with specimens up to 35 meters high, where the species
of families, Leguminosae such as the Yvyrá Pytâ (Peltophorum
dubium), yvyrá ro (Pterogyne nitens) family Boraginaceae predominate
, composed of petereby (Cordia dichotoma), followed by the Moraceae
family, such as Tatajyva (Chlorophora tinctoria) and Amba´y
(Cecropia pachystachya trécul). In addition to these forest
formations, the park has a riverine forest, with smaller tree
species, represented by the Euphorbiaceae family, this type of
forest also has a variety of ferns, they are variable in size, which
serve as support for some orchids.
Wildlife
The fauna of
the Ñacunday National Park, is represented by diverse species of
mammals, birds, rodents and reptiles; As the area protects a section
of the Ñacunday River, and it is a water course of importance due to
its extension and flow, there is a rich and varied fish fauna,
especially at the mouth of the Paraná.
Hydrography
The
Ñacunday National Park protects water springs, streams, and a
section of the Ñacunday River, tributary of the Paraná River, and
the Ñacunday Falls considered the most important in the country
after the disappearance of the Saltos del Guairá. The jump of
approximately 40 meters high and 70 meters wide that is located
about 1,000 meters from the mouth of the Paraná River, under the
waterfall has an island that was formed with old streaks of tree
rolls that fell to the precipice. Occasionally the Ñacunday river is
used for recreational purposes.