The mighty Iguazú Falls were the second stop on our South America trip. This spectacular site, which consists of hundreds of waterfalls stretching for nearly 3km, sits within rainforest national park. It straddles the border of Argentina and Brazil and can be easily visited from either country. We had read that both sides were worth a visit, and whilst some people cram it all into a single day, we decided to spend a full day on each side. Our flight from Buenos Aires to Puerto Iguazú (on the Argentinian side) arrived early afternoon, and having checked in to Akwati Suites, we headed out to explore. There’s not exactly much to see in the town, but we walked up to the 'Hito Tres Fronteras' where the Iguazú and Paraná rivers converge and divide three countries. We stopped off for a drink at 'Bocamora' and admired the views out across the river to Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. We also had a wander through the markets before having an early dinner at La Rueda.
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| Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay | Puerto Iguazú markets |
Day 1
We made an early start and took a taxi from our hotel to the Parque Nacional Iguazú. From the entry we walked to the start of the 'paseo inferior', one of two main walking circuits around the falls. The path wound it’s way down to the base of some of the smaller falls (and by small, I mean in comparison to the others here) and led us to the river edge, where we took the optional Iguazú Jungle Explorer boat trip on the river to witness the full force of the falls up close. What started off as a gentle motorboat ride soon segued into an adrenalin pumping thrill ride as we edged closer and closer, and finally under, the San Martin fall. We got wet! Very wet! There was no point even trying to stay dry, but surely getting drenched is half the fun. My advice? Remove as many clothes as possible (keep it decent though!) and enjoy the soaking (they give you a waterproof bag to put your stuff in). The trip only lasted about 15mins, but it was exciting, exhilarating and heaps of fun. Highly recommended, and one of the highlights of our entire holiday. (Depending on the water level you can also sometimes take a free boat across to Isla San Martin which has a walking trail and closer views of some of the falls, but it was closed when we were there).
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| Iguazú Falls (paseo inferior) |
Next we made our way up to the 'paseo superior', a board walk which runs along the top edge of a number of the falls, and gives spectacular close up views of the Rio Iguazú as it quickly turns from gently flowing river into a raging tumbling deluge.
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| Iguazú Falls (paseo superior) |
We stopped off to buy a cold drink and a couple of snacks, but these were quickly stolen by half a dozen or so feral coatis. These seemingly cute and gentle mammals become aggressive and vicious where food is concerned, so don’t put your empanadas down anywhere, not even for a second or two (unless you want to witness a coati feeding frenzy!!) So we decided that rather than battle with the wildlife, we’d call in to the Sheraton Hotel for lunch in slightly more civilised surroundings!
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| Coati feeding frenzy |
We then headed to the start of the walkway to Gargantuan del Diablo (or Devils Throat). You can take the train the 2.3km, but we decided to walk. The path is flat and runs alongside the train tracks, and we saw heaps of butterflies, birds and more coati's along the way. It was then another 1100m walk over a boardwalk and across the Rio Iguazú, to the awe-inspiring and spectacular Gargantuan del Diablo. There is a lookout perched right on the edge, where you can watch the torrents of water cascading into the abyss below, creating clouds of vapour which rise into the sky. It really is quite an breathtaking and spectacular sight, and words or photos really don’t do it justice.
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| Gargantuan del Diablo (Devils Throat) |
From here, we made our way back to the entry, where we were collected by our taxi driver, and taken back to the hotel.
Day 2
The following morning, our driver picked us up nice and early to take us across the border into Brazil, so we could experience the falls from a different perspective. The border crossing was very straight forward - we handed our passports to the driver who disappeared into a little office, and emerged 5 minutes later with them stamped!
We dropped our bags at our next hotel, the San Martin Resort and Spa, conveniently located on the road that leads from the town of Foz do Iguaçu to the national park entry. From here we had a short walk to the Helisul helipad, where we took a 10 minute flight across the national park and over the falls. It was fantastic to see them from the air, and you really get to appreciate the scale and magnificence of the site, if you didn’t already! Try an get the seat next to the pilot (or a rear window seat) for the best views, rather than the rear middle seat, which was abysmal.
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| Helicopter over Iguazú Falls |
Following the flight we continued down the road to the entrance and visitor centre of the Parque Nacional do Iguaçu. Once inside, we jumped on the shuttle bus for the 10 minute journey into the park proper, and to the start of the 'Cataratas Trail' which leads to the falls. There are a couple of stops along the way, from where you can take a hike through the forest, or a boat trip on the river. The path twists and turns for about 1.5km, and gives fantastic views of the falls on the Argentinian side. A boardwalk than takes you out close to the 'Gargantua del Diablo', where the you will get wet once more from the mist that it creates. We had a leisurely lunch at the lovely Hotel das Cataratas, just near the falls, before heading back to our hotel for caipirinhas by the pool.
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| Iguaçu Falls (Brazilian side) |
The following morning we took a taxi to Foz do Iguaçu airport, where we continued our adventure with 4 days in...Rio de Janeiro.