When we originally made our decision to travel in South America, one of the "must do's" was Iguazu (or Iguaçu or Iguassu in Portuguese) Falls, and we did it! In a word, it was AMAZING!
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| The falls from Brazil (top) and Argentina (middle and bottom...bottom is "Devil's Throat"). |
We hopped on our first airplane in months and flew from Buenos Aires to Puerto Iguazu. Flights on this route are actually pretty affordable on local carrier FlyBondi (like Spirit or RyanAir), even with checked bags and seat selections. We also opted to splurge on a rental car for our visit so that we could have maximum flexibility with our limited time. So our first adventure was crossing the border to Brazil! This actually wasn't much of an adventure (unless you count the many speed bumps in Argentina and big potholes in Brazil) as it's a well-traveled, easy border.
Iguazu National Park actually consists of two parks--one on the Argentinean side that is home to 80% of the falls (and boasts some up-close-and-personal trails both at the bottom and top of various falls) and one on the Brazilian side that is home to 20% of the falls (but some of the best views of the entire falls system). The gouge on the falls is that you can do it in one day (Argentina side), but if you have two days you can spend one on each side (the experience is different!), and if you have three days you can do some things outside of the parks and take your time while in the parks. We planned to spend four nights in the area so we had lots of time to take it all in!
Our night in Brazil was spent at Iguassu Eco Hostel where we relaxed in the pool, enjoyed amazing caipirinhas, and had a great dinner. The next day we visited the Brazil side of the falls which really does provide an amazing panoramic view of the Argentinean falls as you walk along the trail. There is also a catwalk that basically puts you mid-falls, with water rushing down towards you on one side and water rushing past you to the river on the other side. We could almost touch the raging water from some of the platforms! My photos will never do it justice, but will hopefully inspire you to put it on your list! We didn't do all of the nature trails in the park as we had some other things we wanted to get to, but we did see coati!
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| The panoramic views of the falls from the Brazil side are amazing! |
Our next stop in Brazil was the Parque de Aves. It's a bird park with several aviaries that house birds that were rescued from illegal trade or injury. It's really well laid-out with informative signs and knowledgable staff. We saw so many birds, but the standouts for me were the alagoas currasow (only five left in the world, all in captivity), the harpy eagle, and the very photo-ready toucan. There is also a really good cafe at the park so we were able to have lunch while watching some birds, too!
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| Just a sampling of the very educational park! |
Our final stop in Brazil for the day was the Itaipu Binational Hydroelectric Plant, and it was awesome! This project isn't just remarkable for its size as it's the second largest hydroelectric facility in the world, but what really impressed me was the true binational nature of the project. It was built jointly by Brazil and Paraguay and continues to be operated as a joint venture, with all of the output being shared 50/50. The result is that Itaipu provides Paraguay with 75% of its nation's electricity needs while it provides much larger Brazil with 17% of its needs. Such an inspiring partnership! And while we were there the spillway was open which happens pretty infrequently so that was cool to see, and as part of the tour we dipped our toes into Paraguay!
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| This was such a great tour, and the open spillway really put the power of the plant on display. |
After our busy day in Brazil we headed to the Argentina side of the falls for three relaxing, final nights in South America. We had a very cozy room at a hotel outside of town that put us in a good spot to visit the falls. It was super easy to buy tickets to the falls and to the boat ride which was CRAZY! We got sooooo soaked, but it was just awesome to get to view the falls from the water and feel their power. Over two days of visiting this side of the park we did the boat ride, walked the upper and lower falls routes, and visited the Devil's Throat. And even though a few of the trails/experiences we hoped to due were closed due to the high water flow, we really felt that we got to experience the falls from so many angles and didn't miss a thing. We even walked (rather than take the train) back from the Devil's Throat for one last jungle experience and saw more butterflies than we have in some butterfly gardens!
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| Holy Brewery, a pool, and a hotel cat--we had a great stay on the Argentina side! |
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| The videos from the boat ride were crazy. We went INTO the falls! |
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| Day 1 on the Argentina side was boat ride, the lower falls trail, and the upper falls trail. |
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| Day 2 we visited the VERY busy Devil's Throat walkway. |
I would 100% recommend visiting Iguazu Falls once in your life. Sometimes it is drier and more rock outcroppings show. Sometimes the water is flowing so much that many walkways are closed. While we were there for a "heavy" flow, I bet it's stunning no matter what. And with so many things to do around the area you can easily spend a few days and not get bored.
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Las Tres Fronteras, where Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina all meet in the middle of the river.
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~Jo, Nomadic Momma
