The Cataratas del Iguazu (Spanish) or Cataratas do Iguaçu (Brazilian) (Iguazu Falls) stretch for almost 3km and vary in height between 60 and 82m with 80% of the 275 waterfalls falling on the Argentinian side. Besides these facts, the view and experience are just… breathtaking! I have never experienced such an incredible act of nature. You feel so small next to these huge (and noisy) waterfalls, scared and attracted by them at the same time. This is DEFINITELY a must do, even if it’s a bit expensive and may be a detour!
The legend says that a god planned to marry a beautiful woman who fled with her mortal lover, on a canoe. The god, furious and jealous, sliced the river, creating the waterfalls. He condemned the lovers to eternal distance, the man being transformed into a tree at the top of the waterfalls and the woman who fell with the canoe at the bottom of the waterfall, became a rock.
The falls can be reached by 2 main cities: Puerto Iguazu (Argentina) and Foz do Iguaçu (Brazil) and you can go from one city to another by bus (about an hour) or taxi. Get in mind that you will need to pass the immigration control from both sides.
Allow at least 2 days to visit the waterfalls (one full day in Argentina and a half one in Brazil). On the Argentinian side, you have a lot of walking trails through the park going through the rainforest and to different waterfalls. The Brazilian side offers a full panoramic and frontal view of the waterfalls but don’t really offer as many walking trails.
Both parks are open from 8am to 5 or 6pm (depending on the season). You should take a bus from the city to the park. The Rio Uruguay (Argentina) passes roughly every 20 min and costs 150 pesos round trip. I didn’t take the bus from the Brazilian side so no input but I’ve read it’s also pretty simple.
The entrance fee is paid on each side and is getting more and more expensive! The price just got up to 500 pesos on the Argentinian side and 62 reales on the Brazilian one. You can get a discount if you go a second day (in the same country, of course). Since last month, they are now accepting credit cards on both sides.
I don’t think there is a “better side”, however the Argentinian side offers more walks and different waterfalls to look up close. I strongly recommend to do both! Maybe start with the Brazilian side to have a bigger picture before going up close.
In Argentina, take the small train (free) then walk to a lookout in the middle of the cataratas (cataracts), the Garganta del Diablo (Devil’s Throat), the main attraction, which is the most impressive one! The lookout gives the best view over the water rushing from the river down. Again, there’re are no words to explain.. I’ve read a lot of people say you should go in the afternoon for the light, but I decided to go first thing in the morning to avoid the crowd, and it was beautiful so I’m not sure the time during the day changes that much.
But that’s not all there is! After, you’ll have the possibility to go on different walking circuits. Make sure you do the superior and inferior ones, where you’ll get to see many other waterfalls, some of which are even more beautiful than the Garganta. I heard the San Martin island is also incredible but it was closed during my visit.
During your walk, look carefully around and discover the beautiful nature the rainforest has to offer: planta, flowers, but also different kinds of animals and insects, thousands of butterflies, birds, fish, and maybe even jaguars and monkeys (but I didn’t have a chance to see those two).
You can go on a helicopter ride on the Brazilian side but to be honest, after doing both sides I don’t really see what you would gain from it.
But if you do have a nice budget and want to do something incredible, I would recommend sleeping at the Belmond Hotel Das Cataratas in the Brazilian park, which is beautiful and has a stunning location perched atop the falls. It’s a luxury hotel so it’s a price to pay (around 300$ a night) but it’s incredible and you get to actually sleep IN the National Park, as well as have have access to the waterfalls outside of opening hours. The sunset over these cataracts are really worth it, trust me…
A few tips for both sides:
- Don’t forget to cover your valuables because you will get wet!
- Bring your own picnic and sit on one of the many benches to eat it with a view (please don’t just eat at the food court, it’s depressing!). There is food available on site but it’s really expensive and not very good..
- Be aware of the coati, a rodent that will snatch up your food the second you stop looking! Don’t feed them nor pet them, they can bite you and they are filled with diseases.
- You really don’t need a guide, go on your own and walk at your own pace, enjoy the view and breaks when you want them
One thing I have to share, I got pretty frustrated with one thing: so much water around me and you can never touch it! I understand you have to protect the area but it gets pretty frustrating to have to stay on the paths, especially with the hot weather..
Parque das Aves
If you still have a little time to spare in Brazil, I highly suggest to go tho the bird park situated right before the national park’s entrance. There is an incredible variety of birds, some very strange and weird but some others are so colorfully beautiful! You can also step into the cages with them, it’s really nice.
Parque Aves Website, Mon-Sun, 8:30am to 5pm, 45 reales
Restaurants in Puerto Iguazu
I warmly suggest eating the pasta at Aqua which was delicious. I recommend the pasta with Shrimps, sun-dried tomato cream sauce & grilled zucchinis. The place is really nice and service was excellent.
Aqva Website, Av. Cordoba, 12pm-12am
For something cheaper, head to the market and taste the local food: olives, empanadas, Lucas as such as diced meat. The place is not charming at all, it’s a bit of a mix between Brazilian and Argentinian football lovers trying to get a cheap beer, I’ll admit it, but the taste of that meat was incredible! And it’s fun to look at people live.
Av. Brazil and Felix de Azara, better to go after 4pm when most the street side bars are open
Just meets World 
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