The mighty Iguazu Falls sit abreast the border of Brazil and Argentina and only a stone’s throw from Paraguay, are the most overwhelmingly magnificent in all of South America. If you have never visited the falls, then you have to experience one of Mother Nature’s most spectacular creations. The falls are astounding. Vast torrents of water thunder over a natural fault into more than 250 cascades.
The Rio Iguazu (I is Guarani for big and guazu is water) rises in the hills of Brazil and wanders inland receiving water from 30 rivers as it crosses the plateau before turning toward the sea, crashing over the falls, and joins the Rio Parana 20km downstream before flowing into the Río de la Plata. From a distance of 10km, the forest looks as if it is on fire and the noise of the roar of the detonating water is constantly in the background. Salto Union, the largest of the falls plunge into ‘Garganta del Diablo’ (Throat of the Devil) so called because the local Indians seeing the spray assumed it was smoke and thought that there can be no smoke without fire and no fire without the devil.
You can experience the falls from either the Brazilian or the Argentinian side or both. On the Brazilian side, the waters turned deep red by the volume of rain; you walk along a manmade pathway across the top of Salto Santa Maria to look up at the power of Salto Floriano and down to the beginning of the gorge. On the Argentinean side, there is an even longer walkway that goes out to the very edge of Salto Union. One of the best viewing areas is along a path known as the Circuito Inferior (lower pathway) along which you view the falls from below. Here, it is possible to experience the power, volume and weight of water spilling off the summit of the falls. A part of the falls is called Dos Hermanas (two sisters) with the noise and anger of the river resembling two women arguing!
The experience is exhilarating and wonderful! Combine Iguazu falls with an itinerary of wild Patagonian Landscapes.
‘At-a-Glance’ Illustrative Itinerary
