Foz do Iguaçu and Puerto Iguazú Falls

The Iguaçu Falls are a stunning and breathtaking wonder of nature. These waterfalls are located near Foz do Iguaçu and Puerto Iguazú, at the border between Brazil and Argentine and not far from the border with Paraguay. The astonishing power of the Iguaçu Falls is a marvellous contrast with the tranquillity of the dense forest that surrounds it. The 275 falls of Iguaçu are spread over a distance of 2.7 kilometres and are separated by small, rocky islands that are often covered by lush vegetation. Some of these falls have an altitude of more then 80 metres. The most spectacular part is the Devil's Throat (Garganta do Diabo in Portuguese, Garganta del Diablo in Spanish). This is a fabulous U-shaped cliff with a width of 150 metres and a length of 700 metres where water falls over an altitude of 70 meters.

The Portuguese word Iguaçu and the Spanish word Iguazú stem from the Amerindian Guaraní language in which it means “large water”. According to the Amerindians, the Iguaçu Falls were made by an angry and jealous god who split the river to avoid that a rival would take a beautiful native girl called Naipú away in his canoe. In 1541, the Spanish explorer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca was the first European who witnessed the beauty of the Iguaçu Falls. Later, he would write "The current of the Iguaçu was that strong that the canoes were carried furiously down the river, for near this spot is a considerable fall. The noise made by the water leaping down some high rocks to a gorge may be heard from a great distance, and the spray rises two spears high and more over the fall. It was necessary, therefore, to take the canoes out of the water and carry them by hand past the cataract for half a league with great labour"

Near the Falls of Iguaçu are 3 cities, the Brazilian Foz do Iguaçu, the Argentine Puerto Iguazú and the Paraguayan Ciudad del Este. At least two days are needed to visit the falls: one day for the Brazilian side and one day for the Argentine part. About 10 km north of Foz do Iguaçu is another interesting place to visit: the enormous Itaipu Dam which is considered a man-made wonder.

Getting there
Foz do Iguaçu has an airport where domestic flights from larger Brazilian cities arrive. With the bus you arrive at the rodoviária (bus station for long distance travel) that is situated in the northern suburbs of Foz do Iguaçu. Since the start of low cost airlines, it is often not worth travelling large distances by bus. The airport of Puerto Iguazú receives flights from the Argentine cities of Buenos Aires and Córdoba.

It is easy to travel by bus or taxi from Foz do Iguaçu to Puerto Iguazú or Ciudad del Este. Foz do Iguaçu is connected with the Paraguayan Ciudad del Este by the Friendship Bridge (Ponte da Amizade), a bridge over the river Paraná that has a length of 552 metres. Another bridge, the Ponte Internacional Presidente Tancredo Neves, has a length of 489 metres and connects Foz do Iguaçu with the Argentine city of Puerto Iguazú. 

If you cross the border to Argentine for only one day, you usually don’t need to apply for a visa or ask for a stamp in your passport. If you spend one night or more in Argentine, you have to pass the usual immigration procedure.

Stay
Usually, it is not difficult to find a hotel in Foz do Iguaçu or in Puerto Iguazú. An exemption is the week before Easter. During this Holy Week (or Semana Santa), these cities are flooded with Brazilian and Argentine tourists.

Foz do Iguaçu and the Brazilian side of the Iguaçu Falls
Foz do Iguaçu is situated in the extreme west of the Brazilian state of Paraná. It is a large city with about 260 000 inhabitants. It is visited by large amounts of tourists and it has a good infrastructure for tourism. Foz do Iguaçu is not only visited for its Falls. Because many products are cheaper in Paraguay (especially electronic gadgets), many Brazilians visit Foz do Iguaçu for a short visit to Paraguay. They are often called sacoleiros after the bags and sacks in which they carry their goods over the border. 

The Iguaçu Falls can be visited by bus and by taxi. Getting there by local bus (direction “Parque Nacional”) takes about 45 minutes. The terminal for local busses is located in the centre of Foz do Iguaçu at the Avenida Juscelino Kubitschek.

About 300 metres before the entrance of the Parque Nacional do Iguaçu is the Parque das Aves. This park has a lot of aviaries that are built in the middle of the forest. The aviaries contain a large amount of birds from Brazil. The Parque das Aves is open between 8.30 and 17.30 hours.

The border between Brazil and Argentine runs through the Devils Throat. Most of the waterfalls are located in Argentine, but the Brazilian side of the Garganta do Diabo offers the best view as the water flows in the direction of Brazil. On the Brazilian side, the morning offers the best light for watching the waterfalls or for taking pictures. Keep your camera in a waterproof plastic bag.

An expensive but spectacular way to visit the waterfalls is by helicopter. The price per person depends on the number of passengers and the duration of the flight. The helicopter flights are organised by the company Helisul. Another spectacular way to visit the falls is by boat. The company Macuco Safari organises such trips.

Puerto Iguazú and the Argentine side of the Falls
Puerto Iguazú (30 000 inhabitants) is much smaller than its Brazilian neighbour Foz do Iguaçu. It belongs to the Misiones Province of Argentine. Because most tourists visit the Brazilian side of the Iguaçu Falls, the Argentine part is much calmer. For this reason, the Argentine side offers more chance to meet special birds or other animals.

The Parque Nacional Iguazú is located at a distance of 20 kilometres from Puerto Iguazú. You can get there by taking a bus that departs from the bus terminal at the Avenida Córdoba.

In the Parque Nacional Iguazú, visitors can visit the Paseo Superior, the Paseo Inferior and the Garganta del Diablo which is the Spanish name for the Devil’s Throat. The Paseo Superior ends near the beautiful falls of Salto San Martin since the water washed away a bridge. The Paseo Inferior carries the visitor along the Viewing Tower (Torre Mirador) and boats carry visitors to the beach of the Isla San Martin that offers a beautiful view on the falling water. The spectacular Garganta del Diablo can be visited by taking a small train that departs from the visitor’s centre.

As well as on the Brazilian side, it is recommended to keep your camera in a waterproof plastic bag. On the Argentine side, the later afternoon offers the best light for taking pictures.

Ciudad del Este
The Paraguayan town of Ciudad del Este is quite large but there is not much to do for tourists. Ciudad del Este is responsible for a large part of Paraguay’s Gross National Product. It is a special tax zone where trade is free of tax and a lot of money is made selling electronics to Brazilians.

Itaipu
The Itaipu Dam is a huge hydroelectric dam on the Paraná river that marks the border of Brazil and Paraguay. It was the largest hydroelectric dam of the world until the construction of the Chinese Three Gorges Dam in 2006. The construction of this dam began in 1970 and was completed in 1992. In 2007, the Itaipu dam reaches a capacity of 14.000 MW.

Itaipu can be reached by bus from Foz do Iguaçu. Guided tours depart from the visitor’s centre (Centro de Recepção de Visitantes) at 8.00 hours, 9.00 hours, 10.00 hours, 14.00 hours, 15.00 hours and 15.30 hours. Since 2007, the visitor’s centre is open for 7 days a week.

Comparing Iguaçu with other waterfalls
The size and beauty of the Iguaçu Falls are often larger than the human capacity to imagine. Comparisons with other waterfalls are frequently needed to explain how special these falls are.

The Niagara Falls, the largest waterfalls of North-America, are the most common victim of such a comparison. The Iguaçu Falls are much larger than the Niagara Falls. “Poor Niagara” is what the American First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, would have said when she saw the Iguaçu Falls.  Recently, a number of authors described the Iguaçu Falls as “The Niagara Falls on Viagra”.

The only waterfalls that rival the Iguaçu Falls are the Victoria Falls on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. These waterfalls are not as wide as the Iguaçu Falls but as the Victoria Falls are not interrupted by small rocky islands, the Victoria Falls are the widest uninterrupted waterfalls of the world.

While the Iguaçu Falls remain the widest waterfalls of the world, the highest waterfall of the world is also located in South America. The Salto Ángel Falls have an altitude of 979 metres and an uninterrupted drop of 807 metres. This waterfall is situated in the Canaima National Park in Venezuela, not far from Venezuela’s border with Brazil.