We took the plane from Rio to Foz do Iguazu. Unlike the mountainous area surrounding Rio, the terrain in this area of Brazil is flat and featureless – until you suddenly see Iguazu falls and the cloud of mist rising into the sky.
The falls are a Unesco World Heritage site. The statistics: the falls are 2.5 miles wide and 260 feet high and has a total of 275 separate falls. The Argentinian side actually has more of the falls, but many say that the Brazilian side has the best views. I have to agree to a point: on the Brazilian side of Garganta del Diablo you are surrounded on almost 3 sides by waterfalls. It may be the single best view of the falls. Iguazu is incredibly impressive and the views are spectacular.
Below: A few photos from the Brazilian side of the falls. Note that the borders of 3 countries meet at the confluence of the Parana and Iguazu rivers: Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. Only Brazil and Argentina share the falls however.
The next day, we visited the Argentinian side for a whole different perspective on the falls.
Getting there: We flew GOL from Rio, an approximately 2 hr flight. I recommend booking with Expedia – that’s how we book all our flights (use “Iguassu” as the destination airport).
Accommodation: We stayed at The San Martin Resort and Spa which is about 4 km from the Iguacu airport (an inexpensive taxi ride) and 400 meters from the entrance of the Iguazu Falls National Park. It is a large resort with about 150 rooms and its location is an absolutely perfect base to explore the Brazilian side of the falls.
It is also right next to a bird park which we visited. We were walking around looking at the birds when we saw the guy below. Doesn’t look happy does he? About a second after taking this photo he launches off that railing and starts trying to pecker my leg.
I’ve never been peckered by a bird before. Perfect I thought – even the wildlife hates me in Brazil.
Have you been to Iguazu? What was your highlight of the falls?
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