I have visited many other waterfalls before, including Niagara Falls. So I thought, well, Iguazu was just another waterfalls to put on my ‘been-to’ list. I was WRONG again! When I came face to face with the astounding Iguazu Falls, I was turned into a raving fan of its natural beauty and pure magic – a chain of hundreds of waterfalls nearly 3km in extension! This is one of the most beautiful natural wonders I’ve ever seen and something not to miss when traveling in South America! Bonus, no heavy hiking or physical activities are required there. So bring your family, your kids there!

Magnificent Iguazu by The Numbers

The Iguazu Falls are waterfalls of the Iguazu River forming the border between Brazil and Argentina. The 275 individual drops stretching for 2700m make up the largest waterfall system in the world!

To give an idea how magnificent the Iguazu is, I will provide its numbers compared to the other two greater falls, the Victoria Falls (between Zimbabwe and Zambia) and the Niagara Falls (between U.S. and Canada).

	Iguazu Falls	Victoria Falls	Niagara Falls
Total Height	82 meters	108 meters	54 meters
Total Width	2700 meters	1700 meters	945 meters
Number of Drop	275	5	4
Longest Drop	80 meters	108 meters	62 meters
Average Flow Rate	1500 to 1750 m³/s	1088 m³/s	2800 m³/s

Also, for my own curiosity, I searched for the ranking of the waterfalls.

Iguazu Falls is the largest waterfall system with its 275 individual drops.
Victoria Falls has the greatest falling curtain of water (1700m wide and are made up of five different “falls”).
Angel Falls (Venezuela) is the tallest waterfall in the world, a height of 979 m (3,212 ft) and a plunge of 807 m (2,648 ft).
Inga Falls has the largest waterfall by flow rate (maximum recorded volume is 70,793 m³/s).
The title left to Niagara Falls sounds a little pity, the most famous falls.

More General Information for Your Iguazu Falls Visit Plan

As mentioned before, Iguazu Falls is shared by two countries: Argentina and Brazil. Visitors can reach the falls from Puerto Iguazu in Argentina or from Foz do Iguacu in Brazil.

About 80% of the falls are on the Argentinean side and 20% in Brazil. Many people may have difficulties deciding on which side to visit. Easy answer here: BOTH! Brazilian side offers the most panoramic views of Iguazu Falls, while the Argentinean side allows visitors to see the waterfalls up-close. It is said that the Brazilian side is for viewing the falls and the Argentinean side is for experiencing them.

Brazilian Side

The Parque Nacional do Iguazu in Brazil only has one circuit of approximately 1500 meters. But during all the journey you will have a constant panoramic view of the Iguazu Falls, which allows you to appreciate it from many angles. Given its smaller size, you plan 2-4 hours inside the park for visit. Another good news is that from Puerto Iguazu, there are buses taking you right in front of this Brazilian National park in an hour or so including border crossing!

The entrance fee is R$ 72 (~ 18 USD).

Argentinean Side

The Iguazu National Park on the Argentine side is larger in size and has 6 different circuits connected by Jungle Trains. Some trails provide the opportunity to walk across several of the falls via catwalk and to overlook the water flowing over the edges and some offers the best close-up views of the falls. It is possible to finish all 6 circuits and a boat tour in one day. But you need to be the first group to enter the park and walk really fast on the trails.

The entrance fee is 800 ARS (~ 14 USD).

My Visit to Iguazu Falls

My base for the Iguazu visit was Puerto Iguazu, Argentina. Upon stepping outside of the airport, I realized that there I was in the humid and hot tropical climate again! There were shared airport shuttle. For only 250 ARS (~4 USD), the shuttle dropped me off at my house (yes, a 2-story townhouse for my own!) in Puerto Iguazu.

Explore Brazilian Side

From Iguazu’s bus terminal, there is a bus company providing direct transport between the falls on the Brazilian side and Puerto Iguazu. It is very easy and comfortable. The bus ride including border crossing is about 1 hour.

I took the earliest bus the next day to Brazil! My original plan was spent half-day at the Brazilian side and finish one or two trails in the Argentinean side in the afternoon. It did not work out as planned. Due to the long waiting time to enter the park, I actually spent almost whole day in Brazil. But I did more than planned there.

The ride was comfortable and border crossing was very fast. The weather was sunny that day by the time I arrived the park.

However, it took me almost 2-3 hours to get on the trail? First I encountered a long queue at the ticket box. Then another queue just to enter the park. Finally, an endless queue for getting on the bus to the trail head. This was the scene for the final queue, packed with crying babies, shouting kids and exhausting parents. It reminded me of Disney Park…

After a long time waiting, finally I boarded on a cute Disney-like animal painted double-decked bus!

“My poor Niagara …”

That is what Eleonor Roosevelt said when she saw Iguazu Falls. I had the same feeling when Iguazu Falls came to my view for the first time. I had been to many falls, including Niagara. Innocent me! In my mind at that time, I thought Niagara Falls is the largest in the world! But all my ‘ex-waterfalls’ have nothing to compare to Iguazu Falls!

Devil’s Throat at a far distance.

At the end of the circuit, you would find yourself just over 100 meters from Devil’s Throat. Be prepared to get wet!

Although completing the 1.5 km circuit only costed me less than 2 hours, it was too late for me to return to the Argentinean park for the same day that afternoon due to the long waiting time spent just to enter the park and get on the bus. I decided to spent more time in the park for the day. Inside the park, you will find boat tour, jungle trekking, and rafting and river tour. I signed up for rafting and saved boat tour to the foot of the waterfalls in Argentina the next day.

The dock to the rafts.

The rafting tour was only about 30 minutes on the water. To be fair, it was definitely not a whitewater rafting experience. We only had about 5 minutes moving on easy rapids. But at the end of the tour, you can swim in the river! This is probably the only tour which allows swimming experience!

By the way, the cost for this 30-minute rafting tour was R$ 136 (~ 34 USD).

Swimming or getting wet was something I planned. I didn’t have spare clothing for exchange. So I was drying myself under the sun. I guess the bus drivers are used to ‘wet’ travelers and I was not rejected to enter the buses. Thanks to the hot weather, by the time I returned to my townhouse, everything was almost dried…

Note: remember to bring some spare clothing for exchange no matter if you have any water-related activities planned.

Hiking the Argentinean Side

Learnt from my experience at the Brazilian side, I was in front of the park entrance 30 minutes before the opening time. Yes, the first bus there was at 7 am and it only took half an hour to get there.

That day, I had a long to-do list, taking the boat tour and complete all 6 circuits in the park! I was among the first group to enter the park at 8 a.m. sharp! It was proved that complete all 6 circuits and a boat tour in one day was possible!

Boat Safari

Unfortunately, it was raining heavily that morning. So before my boat tour, I was already all wet…

The boat safari was 3,000 ARS (~ 50 USD) as of December 2019 and started off with an relaxing drive through the jungle. During the ride, there was a guide providing information about plants and animals living in the area.

After the ride, there was an easy walk down to the launching point on Iguazu River.

You would get really close and get under the waterfalls. Of course, completely SOAKED. No worries about your cameras or any non water proof stuff, they gave you a huge dry bag to store those items.

So waterfalls from the river!

The Devil’s Throat!

The Falls and Flows of Water

With a total of six circuits, you can experience the falls at a distance, getting really close and even have the opportunity to overlook the water flowing over the edges.

Some of the 275 individual falls…

Beautiful Patterns of Water Flows

Powerful Devil’s Throat

The highlight of my day at Argentinean side of Iguazu Falls was the overlook at the Devil’s Throat. One really need to view it in person to feel the power of it!

Macuco Trail

The Macuco trail extends about 3.6 kilometers into the forest and finishing at a small water fall. The round trip took about 2 hours. This was the last trail I took of the day.

Most part of the trail was in the jungle.

As you come to the falls, the trail splits into two; one way to the top of the falls the other to the bottom.

To be honest, this trail was not very special. Although some said you may have the opportunities to spot some wildlife there, I didn’t see any. Also the falls at the end of the trail was not that impressive. But there you have the opportunity to swim in the pond and probably this is the only spot allowing swimming inside the park.

My suggestion is if you do not have enough time, probably you can leave it out.

Animals inside the Park

The park is the home to many wildlife, including but not limited to toucans, macucos , magpies, parrots, tapirs, anteaters, monkeys, and even ocelots.

Among all those, smart and brave coatis were probably the park rangers. You can spot them almost everywhere along the trail and resting area.

Then beautiful tropical butterfliers.

If you are lucky, you may find toucans.

Accommodation and Food in Iguazu

My Townhouse in Puerto Iguazu

I was lucky to find a townhouse for my own at a very low price! The two-story town house can accommodate 7 people with air conditioning, a well-equipped kitchen, a balcony and a back yard with grill!

For those who is interested, the townhome’s name isMadre Selva Iguazu. As for my 3-night stay for one person, the cost was 2835 ARS (~ 47 USD).

Dining room, kitchen, sofa bed and full bathroom on the first floor.

Dorm with 4 twin beds.

Master bedroom with queen sized bed and a balcony.

My Meals

So with this well equipped kitchen and the UNIVERSAL MAGIC Chinese hot pot base I found in Buenos Aires’s China town, I cooked a huge pot of DAPANJI (spicy chicken stew with potato) with pasta for two dinners! Of course, local beers were purchased from the grocery stores.

Morning coffee near the bus terminal. Coffee and beers were probably the one things I had at Iguazu restaurants. Coffee costed 105 ARS (~ 1.75 USD).

Log

Iguazu stay from December 17 to December 20, 2019.

Next stop: Buenos Aires, Argentina (Flight to Buenos Aires 16:05 Dec. 20, 2019).

This post was published at Phoenix on August 5, 2020.