Current Time in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay

Ciudad del Este stands on the eastern edge of Paraguay, on high ground above the Paraná River where the borders of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina come together in the region known as the triple frontier. The Friendship Bridge carries a constant stream of traffic across the river to the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguaçu, and the surrounding country is subtropical, warm and humid, with remnants of the Atlantic forest that once covered the whole area.

With a population of around three hundred thousand in the city and considerably more in the surrounding metropolitan area, it is the second largest city in Paraguay and the capital of Alto Paraná department. Its significance is overwhelmingly commercial, for it is one of the great trading centres of South America, drawing shoppers from across the continent to a downtown packed with galleries and arcades selling electronics, perfumes, clothing, toys and almost everything else at prices well below those of its neighbours.

The city is young. It was founded in 1957 as part of a national policy to open the eastern frontier and was originally named after the president of the time, taking its present name of city of the east after the return of democracy in 1989. Construction of the Itaipú dam through the 1970s and 1980s transformed it from a frontier settlement into a boom town, attracting tens of thousands of workers and migrants. Alongside Paraguayans of Guaraní and Spanish descent, substantial Lebanese, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Brazilian communities settled here, and the mixture of languages heard in the markets is one of the city's most striking features.

Itaipú itself remains the region's greatest landmark. Jointly operated with Brazil, it is among the largest hydroelectric plants in the world, and free tours take visitors along the immense concrete wall, into the machine hall and to viewpoints over the spillway. The dam supplies the great majority of Paraguay's electricity and a significant share of Brazil's. Nearby, the utility maintains ecological reserves, a biological refuge and museums that display the archaeology recovered before the reservoir was filled.

The Monday Falls, only a few kilometres from the centre, are a wide and powerful curtain of water on a tributary of the Paraná, far less visited than their famous neighbour but impressive in their own right, with viewing platforms, a park and abseiling for the adventurous. Across the border lie the Iguazú Falls, one of the natural wonders of the world, easily reached on a day trip.

Cultural life is energetic, with Guaraní widely spoken alongside Spanish and Portuguese, a strong tradition of harp and guitar music, and a cuisine of grilled meat, chipa bread, cassava and endless cold tereré, the iced version of mate that is drunk everywhere.

An international airport, the bridge, and highways west toward Asunción connect the city, and the National University of the East serves the region.

Ciudad del Este is remarkable as a frontier boom town where commerce, energy and three national cultures meet.