{"id":73,"date":"2008-01-09T04:15:38","date_gmt":"2008-01-09T04:15:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/iguaca-falls-brazil-argentina\/"},"modified":"2008-01-09T04:15:38","modified_gmt":"2008-01-09T04:15:38","slug":"iguaca-falls-brazil-argentina","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/iguaca-falls-brazil-argentina\/","title":{"rendered":"Iguaca Falls, Brazil &amp; Argentina"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Iguaca Falls<\/strong> is probably the most<br \/>\nimpressive national border in the world. This world beating<br \/>\n<strong>waterfall<\/strong> is shared by Brazil and Argentina and is one of the<br \/>\nmust see sights of South America.&nbsp; Both the Brazilian and Argentine parks<br \/>\nhave become victims of rampant commercialization, but the falls remain a truly<br \/>\namazing destination.<\/p>\n<h2>    How to see the falls and    park<\/h2>\n<p>    Allow at least two full days to visit both the Argentine<br \/>\nand Brazilian parks and arrive early to beat the crowds.&nbsp; Both parks have<br \/>\nexcellent museums and visitor centers but leave these until your way    out.<\/p>\n<p>    The finest overall view is from the Brazilian side, best<br \/>\nin the morning when the light is better for photography.&nbsp; You&#8217;ll need half<br \/>\na day here &#8211; more if you visit the Parque das Aves, the best opportunity to bird<br \/>\nwatch, located just outside the park.&nbsp; The real attraction however, is the<br \/>\npath that zigzags down the riverbank, leading to a catwalk that takes you almost<br \/>\nbeneath the Garganta do Diablo (Devil&#8217;s Throat), a 150m wide and 700m long<br \/>\nhorseshoe of cascading water, guaranteed to    drench.<\/p>\n<p>    For more detailed views of the falls, the Argentine park<br \/>\nhas the best vantage points.&nbsp; The falls here are more numerous and the<br \/>\nviewing areas and trails more extensive.&nbsp; With a reasonable eye toucans can<br \/>\nbe spotted; monkeys swing from tree to tree and butterflies abound.&nbsp; There<br \/>\nare two main trails &#8211; one that follows the waters edge and the other offering<br \/>\nviews of individual falls from    afar.<\/p>\n<p>    No visit is complete without venturing onto the catwalk<br \/>\nthat leads 1,200m across roaring waters to platforms just above the Devil&#8217;s<br \/>\n    Throat.<\/p>\n<p>    With more time follow the 5km long Sendero Macuco, a<br \/>\nforest path that attracts relatively few hikers, thus offering the best chance<br \/>\nto observe the shy wildlife.&nbsp; Press on along the muddy trail to an isolated<br \/>\nwaterfall, the Salto Arrecha &#8211; the only place in the park where swimming is<br \/>\nallowed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>    Helicopter rides are available but, while breathtaking,<br \/>\nbear in mind the Argentine claims that the noise disturbs the wildlife.&nbsp;<br \/>\nMore exhilarating is a boat trip.&nbsp; Leaving both parks, powerful inflatables<br \/>\nferry you to the edge of the crashing waters, the pilots skimming their boats<br \/>\nwithin touching    distance.<\/p>\n<h2>    Tips<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>    Don&#8217;t visit during Semana Santa (Easter) &#8211; the parks<br \/>\n  are packed with Argentine and Brazilian    tourists.<\/li>\n<li>    You&#8217;ll be soaked by spray and rain &#8211; bring a<br \/>\n  waterproof and Ziploc bags for your camera and    passport.<\/li>\n<li>    Coati, racoon-like mammals, will scrounge for food<br \/>\n  along the parks&#8217; trails and can be aggressive.&nbsp; Feeding them is strictly<br \/>\n  forbidden.<\/li>\n<li>    The only really good places to eat are the<br \/>\n  restaurants of the imposing Hotel Tropical das Cataratas.&nbsp; Its buffet and<br \/>\n  gaucho-themed outdoor grill serve typical Brazilian    dishes.<\/li>\n<li>    You can drive a hire car across the border from<br \/>\n  Brazil to Argentina. No documentation is required if simply traveling to<br \/>\n  Puerto Iguazu or the Argentine park, but if you plan to explore further ask<br \/>\n  you car hire company for the necessary paperwork, to which an additional<br \/>\n  charge is    payable.<\/li>\n<li>    Full moon walks take place five evenings a month (on<br \/>\n  full moon and two days either side) in the Argentine park. The light<br \/>\n  reflecting on the waterfalls is    magical.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>    When to    go<\/h2>\n<p>    Iguaca varies by season,.&nbsp; During the summer<br \/>\n(December to February) the waters are at their strongest, but rains can be<br \/>\nintense and temperatures soar, making a visit tough.&nbsp; In the cool, drier<br \/>\nwinter (June to August) the volume of water is less intense but the sunshine<br \/>\ninteracts with the spray to create enchanting    rainbows.<\/p>\n<h2>    Getting    there<\/h2>\n<p>    The falls are located in the &#8216;triple frontier&#8217; region of<br \/>\nArgentina, Brazil and Paraguay, roughly 20km south-east of the towns of Foz do<br \/>\nIguacu (Brazil) and Puerto Iguazu (Argentina).<\/p>\n<p>    There are daily flights to Foz from Curitiba, Sao Paulo<br \/>\nand Rio (around US$400 return), and daily flights from Buenos Aires to Puerto<br \/>\nIguazu (around US$300 return).&nbsp; From early morning to late evening public<br \/>\nbuses connect Foz with Puerto Iguazu, taking 45 minutes.&nbsp; You must carry<br \/>\nyour passport but, if crossing the border for the day immigration formalities<br \/>\nare minimal.&nbsp; Buses ply the road between Foz and the entrance to the<br \/>\nBrazilian park and the road linking Puerto Iguazu with Argentina&#8217;s park.&nbsp;<br \/>\nTaxis are also available between the two countries &#8211; a good option if time is<br \/>\n    limited.<\/p>\n<h2>    Where to    stay<\/h2>\n<p>    Ugly, sprawling and none-too-safe-after-dark Foz do<br \/>\nIguacu has a greater choice of hotels, but smaller Puerto Iguazu makes a more<br \/>\npleasant base.&nbsp; Extremely simple, but with masses of character, is the<br \/>\nHosteria La Cabana, the oldest guesthouse in Puerto Iguazu, built&nbsp;by German<br \/>\npioneer settlers.&nbsp; There is no shortage of comfortable mid-range options<br \/>\nhere,either.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>    Entry to the    park<\/h2>\n<p>    Brazil&#8217;s Parque National do Iguacu (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.cataratasdoiguacu.com.br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">www.cataratasdoiguacu.com.br<\/a>) is open from 8am to 5pm (6pm<br \/>\nOct-Mar).&nbsp; Entry costs R$20.15 (US$11).&nbsp; Argentina&#8217;s Parque Nacional<br \/>\nIguazu (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.iguazuargentina.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">www.iguazuargentina.com<\/a>) is open from 7.30am to 6.30pm (8am to<br \/>\n6pm Apr-Sep).&nbsp; Entry costs A$40    (US$13).<\/p>\n<h2>    Facts<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>    Much of the forest around the falls is secondary<br \/>\n  growth.&nbsp; Timber was logged in the early 20th century but, with the<br \/>\n  creation of the two parks, the landscape has shown a remarkable capacity to<br \/>\n  recover, offering hope to other rainforests environments even if protection is<br \/>\n    delayed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>    Issues<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>    In July 2006, the Iguaca River virtually dried up &#8211;<br \/>\n  the consequence of southern Brazil&#8217;s worst drought in 20 years.&nbsp; At the<br \/>\n  end of July the volume of water plummeted to just 300,000 litres per second,<br \/>\n  down from the month&#8217;s usual 1.5 million per second.&nbsp; While droughts do<br \/>\n  occur naturally, last year&#8217;s event was just the most obvious sign of climate<br \/>\n  change &#8211; increasingly noticeable here.&nbsp; Seasons are less predictable,<br \/>\n  nights are hotter, rainstorms are more intense and droughts last<br \/>\n    longer.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>    The history of Iguaca    Falls<\/h2>\n<p>    Legend tells that when a god planned to marry a<br \/>\nbeautiful girl named Naipi she escaped in a canoe with her mortal lover,<br \/>\nTaroba.&nbsp; In anger, the god sliced the river, creating Iguaca Falls and<br \/>\ncondemned the lovers to an eternal    tumble.<\/p>\n<p>    Iguaca Falls is formed by the Iguaca River, which<br \/>\noriginates near Curitiba in the Brazilian state of Prana.&nbsp; The river snakes<br \/>\nwestward, increasing in size and power before, 1,200km later, it broadens out<br \/>\nacross a basalt cap and plunges over an 82m high cliff &#8211; Iguaca    Falls.<\/p>\n<p>    This isn&#8217;t the whole story though; it&#8217;s just the most<br \/>\nprominent of the falls, one of the 275 interlinking, awe-inspiring cataracts<br \/>\nthat extend 2.7km across the river separating Brazil from Argentina.&nbsp; The<br \/>\nwaters collect in a giant canyon carved out beneath the falls before draining<br \/>\ninto the Parana River, which eventually flows into the    Atlantic.<\/p>\n<p>    While the falls are impressive in themselves, it&#8217;s their<br \/>\nlocation that makes them so special, resulting in the creation of national parks<br \/>\nby Argentina in 1934 and by Brazil in 1939.&nbsp; Iguaca is set deep within one<br \/>\nof the largest remaining stretches of Mata Atlantica, the once &#8211; vast forest<br \/>\necosystem that used to extend along Brazil&#8217;s entire coastline and into the<br \/>\ninterior &#8211; one of the most ecologically rich and biologically diverse biospheres<br \/>\nin the    world.<\/p>\n<h2>    Near to the    falls<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Yacutinga Wildlife Refuge, Argentina<\/strong><br \/>\n  &#8211; Located on the banks of the Iguaca River 60km east of the Argentine<br \/>\n  park.&nbsp; Yacuntinga Lodge offers a good chance to explore the rainforest<br \/>\n  away from the masses. Capuchin Monkeys, deer, otters, caiman and myriad birds<br \/>\n    abound.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Puerto Bertoni, Paraguay<\/strong> &#8211; For a<br \/>\n  taster of Paraguay hop over the border to Puerto Bertoni, on the west bank of<br \/>\n  the Parana River.&nbsp; This isolated spot was the home of Swiss Naturalist<br \/>\n  and ethnologist Moises Bertoni, who settled in the area in    1890..<\/li>\n<li><strong>Mocona Falls, Argentina<\/strong> &#8211; Although<br \/>\n  no great rival to Iguaca in terms of overall grandeur, the 3km wide Mocona<br \/>\n  Falls (200km to the south east) are still impressive.&nbsp; Not least because<br \/>\n  they receive very few    visitors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Iguaca Falls is probably the most impressive national border in the world. This world beating waterfall is shared by Brazil and Argentina and is one of the must see sights of South America.&nbsp; Both the Brazilian and Argentine parks have become victims of rampant commercialization, but the falls remain a truly amazing destination. How to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/73"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/73\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}