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Other entries in Iguazú Falls

The Devil's Throat

One of the great natural wonders of the world, the Iguaçu Falls are situated near the border of Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. The area is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Today we crossed over to the Argentinian side of the falls. This tour took a full day and involved more walking than the Brazilian but was totally worth it. We started doing the lower trails which included setting off on a speed boat and driving right up and into huge waterfalls and getting up-close-and-personal with the Devils Throat.... Soaked!! :o) Then the middle trails and finally a train to the penultimate viewpoint - standing beside and above Gigante del Diable (Devil's Throat). It's really incredible!! The amount of water pouring over and down is astonishing, getting totally drenched and soaked to the bone in the mighty mist generated by the powerful waterfalls.  Standing above the falls you could feel the vibrations of millions of tons of water hitting the water surface below.

In the evening we returned back to camp on the Brazilian side and tomorrow we'll set off on a two day adventure wild camping, on our northbound journey which will eventually take us to Paraty and then Rio on the 31st.

Useful Information for Travelers:

Access to the Falls is usually done through one of the three cities in the so-called tri-border between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.

The city on the Brazilian side is Foz do Iguaçu - big, but less secure. The town on the Argentine side is called Puerto Iguazu and is small and pretty. Although the falls are between Brazil and Argentina only, Ciudad del Este, the city on the Paraguayan side, is just across the bridge from Brazil. It's a hectic (but exciting) centre for contraband and cheap electronic goods.

Border crossing between these countries is fairly relaxed - authorities assume most people are on a day trip across the border and won't even stamp your passport. So, if you are crossing into another country for good, you will have to persuade them to stamp you passport (otherwise you could run in to problems later).

The Iguaçu Falls are an awesome sight as tons of water throw themselves over cliffs and the mist rises amongst the jungle. They are taller than Niagara Falls, and twice as wide, for which Eleanor Roosevelt is said to have exclaimed on her first sight of the Falls: "Poor Niagara!"

It is well worth spending a day on each side of the falls.

On the Argentine side (40 AR$ pp, second day for half price if you get your ticket stamped before leaving on the first day, subsequent days are free if you tell them you are staying at the Sheraton) there are a whole series of walkways and trails by the main visitors centre, allowing you to stand right on the edge of the precipice, below some of the waterfalls themselves, see a good overview and take a short boat trip to Isla San Martin below the falls. Wear waterproofs and protect your camera!

There is a free train running up to a 1km-long walkway across the river to stand just back from the main horseshoe of falls - the Devil's Throat (Garganta del Diablo), where the roar and spray are tremendous.

On the Brazilian side (20 R$ pp, cheaper for Brazilian residents) you get an excellent overview of Devil's Throat and the rest of the falls, from both above and below.

On the Argentina side, there is a really nice hotel that serves a good buffet. You can see the mist coming out of the falls and also generally see toucans and other birds flying around.

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