Bernardo de Irigoyen: Walk across the Border into Brazil

Barely 200 kilometers separate the City of Puerto Iguazú from Bernardo de Irigoyen. The road to this destination is a chance to see various districts immersed in the Misiones rainforest.

Bernardo de Irigoyen is a small city in Misiones which borders on neighboring Brazil and it has a special feature unknown to strangers: it is the easternmost point on continental Argentina. In the past, this small town used to be called “Barracón”, just like the city bearing the same name on the Brazilian side: in Portuguese “Barracão”.

Bernardo de Irigoyen is the head of the District of General Manuel Belgrano in the Province of Misiones. It was founded on July 11, 1921. Located at the point known as “dry frontier”, it borders on two small Brazilian villages named Dionísio Cerqueira (which belongs to the State of Santa Catarina) and Barracão (which is part of the State of Paraná). This is why it is a very important point into and out of the country and, accordingly, there is a Migration office.

The city lies on Mount Barracón, at over 800 meters above sea level. It is located very close to 843-meter-high Mount Rincón, the highest summit in Argentinian Mesopotamia.

Among its tourist sights, some Catholic parishes stand out. They are also present on the Brazilian side and they give evidence of the significance of Christian evangelization in this area. The small river Pepirí-Guazú is one of the geographic icons in Bernardo de Irigoyen and its beach satisfies both local denizens and tourists during the summertime. A broad street and the Customs Office separate Argentina from Brazil. Therefore, commerce on both sides of the border represents another attraction where portuñol -a mixture of Spanish and Portuguese- is heard all around.

Red soil, humidity and butterflies are the stamp of Bernardo de Irigoyen, a spot in Misiones where those who wish to cross onto Brazil on foot may find the perfect opportunity to do so.