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Published: June 15th 2010
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Iguazu Falls
On the Upper Circuit Having finished in Ciudad del Este, I left Paraguay and headed for Iguazu waterfalls on the Argentinean/Brazilian border, only 20km or so south of Ciudad del Este. The bus from Ciudad del Este to Puerto Iguazu in Argentina was jammed with Argentinean shoppers, loaded with all sorts of strange wares bought in the extensive CDE markets. For the first time I messed up slightly crossing the border, as I missed the Paraguayan customs so didn’t get my exit stamp in my passport, but luckily the Argentinean customs didn’t seem to notice so let me in with no problems. Besides this, it was definitely the quickest and easiest border crossing yet, despite the bus having to go through Brazilian territory to get to Argentina (but not through Brazilian immigration and custom).
Puerto Iguazu is the nearest Argentinean city located to the falls, and only really exists in order to cater for the vast number of visitors who come to see the waterfalls. The city is quite small, but feels so much safer than CDE in Paraguay, and with so much less evident poverty. The city is filled with restaurants and hotels, and not much else.
The falls themselves are part
Iguazu Falls
On the Upper Circuit of the Iguazu river (also spelt Iguassu, Iguaçu, Yguazu, as well as a few more alternatives) with flows into the Paraná just north of Puerto Iguazu, and thus marking the triple frontier between Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. 15km further upstream, the river spreads out to a width of 3km, before plunging down 275 separate falls.
The Argentinean side is part of the Iguazú National Park, which cost 85 pesos (around 17 pounds) to get in, which at first seemed really expensive, but once I saw what they had built in the park, I saw it was definitely worthwhile. As I arrived early, before the sun had broken through the mist, I headed away from the crowds to a trail that went to a separate waterfall, transecting peaceful forest with few other tourists around. I even managed to come very close to some monkeys right above me. The waterfall at the end of the trail was nice enough, but nothing compared to what was about to follow. The midday sun had pierced through the grey cloud, so it was a perfect time to see the falls. As the falls cover quite an area, there are numerous places to view them
Iguazu Falls
On the Upper Circuit from. First up was the Upper Circuit, which stretched out from the Argentinean side of the river across a few of the major falls, at the height of the river before it flows over the falls. This was absolutely incredible - the views across the rest of the falls to Brazil was incomparable. The roar of the water was deafening - I later noticed that you can actually hear it 14km away in Puerto Iguazu when there was no traffic. As you would expect, the place was somewhat crowded, but it wasn’t too difficult to wait to get a clear space in order to take photos and delight in the views.
The Lower Circuit led past lots of the smaller waterfalls before reaching the base of one of the biggest - Bossetti Falls (which the Upper Circuit passes over). I made it to the end of the catwalk, but not without getting soaked in the process. The Lower Circuit then proceeded along the river bank, past San Martin Island (which you are supposed to be able to visit in order to see some different views, but there were no boats to it on the day I visited), offering amazing
Iguazu Falls
On the Lower Circuit views the whole time across the whole breadth of the falls. I didn’t see one person on that trail who didn’t have a massive smile on their face. Both of these circuits were quite long, as there are so many falls you can actually see. And of course you can’t rush around if you want to enjoy the falls properly. By mid-afternoon I had pretty much finished these 2 circuits, so it was time to head to see the other main circuit. On one of the paths I saw a pair of coatis - a small, racoon-like creature, which are seemingly present everywhere in the park, and survive by stealing visitors’ food. There were also some very beautiful blue-coloured birds, which also didn’t seem at all frightened of humans.
The last main sight to see in the park is the Garganta del Diablo (Devil’s Throat) Waterfall. This is located further upstream to the rest, but the park has built a small train to take visitors there (it’s really not far, but the train adds to the experience). From the Devil’s Throat falls train station, there is a 1100m walkway over the Iguazu river to the falls. On one side
Iguazu Falls
On the Lower Circuit you can see the remains of an old and abandoned walkway, which used to link up with the Upper Circuit walkway, with a sign informing visitors that this was washed away by the force of the river. Arriving at the end of the walkway, all I could see to start with was a sheet of white. Then down below, I could see a horseshoe-shaped falls, only metres away. The roar was even more deafening than standing below the Bossetti falls, and the views and exhilaration were simply breathtaking. Words can’t do it justice (nor can my photos). I did get absolutely drenched, but it was definitely worth it. My camera got soaked as well and most of the photos I took near the end turned out to have huge drops across the lens.
I would have to say that this definitely ranks in my top 3 things I’ve done in South America so far (alongside the Ciudad Perdida in Colombia and Chocoquirao in Peru). I’m really looking forward to visiting the Brazilian side now and seeing how it differs. I’ve just crossed over from Argentina to the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguaçu, so will soon see if the
Iguazu Falls
On the Lower Circuit views there are even more spectacular!
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