Iguaçu Falls or Iguazu Falls

Iguaçu Falls

Iguaçu Falls or Iguazu Falls are located 12 mi (19 km) Northeast of Puerto Iguaçu on the border between Brazil and Argentina. The best time to visit this magnificent natural marvel is during rainy season that lasts from April till July. Iguaçu River (Iguazu River) and Iguaçu falls are particularly impressive this time of the year. The name "Iguaçu" means "big water". These walls are rightfully called the wonder of the World. It is 70- 80 meters high and reaches a width of 2.5 km or 1.5 miles.

 

 

Location: 12 mi (19 km) Northeast of Puerto Iguaçu    Map

 

Open: Oct- Mar 8am- 7pm

Apr- Sep 8am- 6pm

Best time to visit: rainy season (Apr- Jul)

 

Description of Iguaçu Falls

The Iguazú Falls (in Portuguese: Cataratas do Iguaçu), popularly called in Argentina as "Cataratas" or "Iguazú Falls", are a set of waterfalls that are located on the Iguazú River, on the border between the Argentine province of Misiones and the Brazilian state of Paraná. They are totally inserted in protected areas; the sector of Argentina is located within the Iguazú National Park, while that of Brazil is located in the Iguaçu National Park. They were chosen as one of the “Seven Natural Wonders of the World”.

They are made up of 275 jumps, 80% of them are located on the Argentine side. A separate show is its jump with the greatest flow and, at 80 m, also the highest: the Devil's Throat, which can be enjoyed in all its majesty from just 50 m along the footbridges that start from Puerto Canoas, to which It is reached using the ecological train service. The border between the two countries passes through this jump. You can take boat rides under the waterfalls and walk along trails appreciating some animals of the semitropical forest belonging to the phytogeographic district of the mixed forests of the Paraná phytogeographic province.

Iguazú Falls are unanimously recognized as the most spectacular in the world. The Swiss botanist Robert Chodat (1865-1934) eloquently described its imposing grandeur: “When we stand at the foot of this world of waterfalls, and raising our eyes we see, 82 meters above us, the horizon occupied by a line of waters , the astonishing spectacle of an ocean pouring down into an abyss is almost chilling.” Marveling at the beauty of such a spectacle, the Swiss botanist described the characteristic flora and fauna of the area: "An exuberant and almost tropical vegetation, the luxuriance of large ferns, bamboo canes, the graceful trunks of palm trees and thousands of species of trees, with their tops leaning over the abyss adorned with mosses, red begonias, golden orchids, brilliant bromeliads and vines with trumpet flowers…”

 

Toponymy

The name of the waterfalls in Spanish Iguazú and archaically Yguazú, comes from two words of Guarani origin: the word «y» (which is read ) as an unrounded central closed vowel and the word «guazú», which in that language means y = 'water', guazú= 'great'; that is, Iguazú means “great water”. In Portuguese the name has been written as cataratas do Iguaçu.

 

History

In the year 1542, while making a journey from the Atlantic Ocean to Asunción del Paraguay, the Spanish advance Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca spotted the surprising waterfalls of the Iguazú River and baptized them as "Santa María waterfalls". The first European to see these falls was the shipwrecked man from Juan Díaz de Solís' expedition, Alejo García in 1524, when he crossed that region in search of the Sierra de la Plata. The name "Saltos de Santa María" was eventually replaced by its old Guarani denomination Iguazú (old spelling of Iguazú 'great amount of water', and guazú 'big').

At that time, the region was inhabited by indigenous people of the Mbyá-Guaraní ethnic group, who around 1609 began to experience the evangelizing process carried out by the priests of the Society of Jesus, called Jesuits, who successfully developed a system of reductions in this region of Latin America. which came to have 30 towns distributed in the Tapé and La Guayrá regions (currently located in southern Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, throughout the Argentine province of Misiones and northern Corrientes). They were the Guarani Jesuit missions.

Due to political and economic differences with the Spanish crown, the Jesuits were expelled in 1768.

The area of ​​the falls regained momentum around June 1881 —shortly before the federalization of Misiones— at which time the province of Corrientes, which exercised jurisdiction, sold 50 square leagues of land on the Paraná, Iguazú and Uruguay to Severo Fernández and Ernesto Arnadey. These transferred their rights, in October of that same year, to Rafael Gallino who transferred them again in favor of Gregorio Lezama.

In December 1881 Misiones was separated from Corrientes and in 1882 the first governor, Rudecindo Roca, took office and divided the territory into five departments. One of his commanders, Francisco Cruz, reached the confluence of the Paraná and Iguazú rivers transporting a German scientific commission that was looking for land to colonize. This expedition was financed by Ledesma (owner of the lands of Iguazú) and directed by the explorer Carlos Bossetti. Among the expedition members was also Jordan Hummell, who years later organized the first tourist trip to the Iguazú Falls. Thus the falls are "discovered" again and returned to be admired.

In 1888, Gregorio Lezama sold the "Iguazú lands" to Martín Erracaborde Cía.

In 1902, the Argentine Ministry of the Interior commissioned the landscape architect Carlos Thays to carry out a study of the falls, which was the basis for the creation of the Iguazú National Park in 1934, which has 67,620 hectares of Misiones jungle.

On September 20, 1895, Governor Balestra divided the province into 14 departments. The Iguazú Department became part of the Frontera Department together with Manuel Belgrano, Eldorado and part of San Pedro.

On July 19, 1897, Alberto Mugica was appointed Justice of the Peace of the incipient population of Iguazú. By then, Jordan Hummell, accompanied by Messrs. Núñez and Gibaja, had already made a new incursion to the Iguazú Falls, but on the Brazilian side, since the Argentine side the jungle was impenetrable. From that trip they took to the government their interest in promoting the arrival of tourists.

One of the various legends tells of the existence of a giant snake, "Mbói", which lived inside the river. To placate its ferocity, the aborigines sacrificed a lady once a year, throwing her into the waters as an offering to the beast. On one of those occasions, a brave Guaraní kidnapped the chosen maiden, to save her from her traditional rite, escaping with her by canoe down the river.

Upon learning of the audacity, Mbói was furious and hunching her back, he parted the course of the river, thus creating the falls and thus separating both indigenous people.

 

Fauna

The fauna that exists in the Iguazú Falls is made up of 450 species of birds, 80 species of mammals, a great variety of insects and within the river fauna we can find alligators, turtles, herons and fish.

Among the bird species that exist, the waterfall swifts stand out, which are the representative species of the Iguazú Falls; There is also the large toucan, which is one of the 5 types of toucans that exist in the area.

The waterfalls represent a refuge for some animals that are in danger of extinction such as: the jaguar, tapir, ocelot, tiricas, anteater, the yacutinga, jungle eagles and the alligator overo etc.

 

rides

Some of the jumps on the Argentine side.
The Iguazú Falls are the main tourist center in northeastern Argentina, and one of the main in the entire country.

In them, the walks are mainly on the Argentine side, although from the Brazilian side you have a panoramic view.

In 1984 the Argentine sector of the falls, the Iguazú National Park, was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Later, in 1986, the sector of Brazil, which is located in the Iguaçu National Park, was also declared a World Heritage Site.

Inside the Argentine park is the Sheraton Iguazú Hotel (formerly: Iguazú International Hotel), which has a panoramic view of the Devil's Throat and the Brazilian waterfalls.

Near the falls is the Argentine city of Puerto Iguazú, at the confluence of the Iguazú and Paraná rivers. The triple border with Paraguay is located there.

Lower Walk:
View of the Iguazú Falls from the viewpoint located in the lower circuit.
Starting from the viewpoint, which is reminiscent of a lighthouse due to its shape and stands out from the surroundings due to its white color, you descend through numerous stairways (some were carved out of the rock itself) towards the Iguazú River and walk along a beautiful pedestrian path. Surrounded by lush jungle you will enjoy a beautiful view of the bottom of the falls.

Starting the visit at the Lanusse waterfall and passing through the Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca waterfall, you will reach a splendid panoramic point from where you will have your first view of the Devil's Throat. Advancing a little further, you can see San Martín Island and to its right the waterfall of the same name. At the end of the trail is the Bossetti waterfall.

There the water vapor produced by the shock of the water against the rocks forms a faint but incessant rain. Going down the path to Punta Peligro you can, if you are enabled at that time, navigate the Iguazú River and cross to San Martín Island. On the way back, you pass through the Dos Hermanas waterfall, where before you could enjoy a refreshing swim in the huge natural pool that forms at its base, since this activity is now prohibited.

Top Walk:
Iguazú Falls on the Argentine side from the Paseo Superior.
Starting from the same site mentioned above, as the name of the tour indicates, the upper part of the waterfalls is traversed. The observation point from a higher level completely changes the view of the landscape. you can see the turbulent waters falling practically at your feet.

In this way, we visit again the Salto Dos Hermanas, the Bossetti, the Chico, which are a small preview of the imposing Devil's Throat. In this place, where the water falls from approximately 70 meters high, the deafening roar of the water is surprising, permanently covered by dense columns of steam, which fires the shock of the water with the rocks.

Devil's throat:
The Devil's Throat is accessed through the Falls Train, descending at the Devil's Throat Station. From there, a walk is made through the new walkway, which winds between the islands, runs 1100 meters to the wide balconies located next to the edge and in front of the Devil's Throat. The duration of this tour is 2 hours and the last train leaves at 4:30 p.m.

San Martin Island:
Years ago, it was possible to reach the Island of San Martín through the boat service that left from the lower circuit. From here you could see a panoramic view of the Devil's Throat, the Window (with its jotes roost), and the San Martín waterfall. Currently, I do not know allows access to San Martin Island.

Macuco Trail:
This hiking trail is one of the traditional outings for lovers of nature observation. An old forest extraction pit 3,600 m long in a jungle environment. This trail allows access to a 20 m waterfall in the middle of the jungle. It is an opportunity to get to know the jungle, and spot macucos, platyrrhine monkeys such as the cai or the carayá monkey, coatis, mountain guans, endless insects and occasionally coral snakes. Here is the Arrechea Fall.

 

Distribution of cataracts between Argentina and Brazil

The Iguazú Falls are arranged in a way that looks like a large reverse "J". On the right bank (north) is the Brazilian territory, which has little more than 20% of the jumps of said falls; and on the left side (south) are the Argentine waterfalls, which make up almost 80% of the falls. To fully know and fully appreciate these falls, the recommendation is to visit both the Argentine and Brazilian sides, because from one side the other can be seen panoramically, and vice versa. From this distribution arises the saying that “from Brazil you see the falls, and from Argentina you live them”: from Brazil you have an impressive panoramic view of most of the waterfalls, which can be vividly traveled from the Argentine side.6 Indeed , on the Argentine side, the visitor moves between the waterfalls, not only on the footbridges that allow them to almost touch the water, but also on the boat rides, which allow them to go to the side of the impressive waterfalls, and even get closer to the Devil's Throat, if you leave by boat from Argentine territory.

Flow
The average water flow of these falls (cascades) is 1,500 m³ per second, although at the end of June 2014, the historic flood occurred that reached 50,000 cubic meters per second, tripling the average flow carried by the Falls. of the Iguazú (exceeding the flood of the year 1983) product of the intense rains in the high basins of the Iguazú River on Brazilian territory. Contrarily, the historical drought of the year 1978 is exhibited by the national park as the year in which the least flow was waterfalls.

One of the seven natural wonders of the world
Iguazú Falls are one of the “Seven Natural Wonders of the World”. On November 11, 2011, the falls were tentatively chosen. On February 22, 2012, the New7Wonder Foundation finally confirmed that these falls are officially one of the “Seven Natural Wonders of the World”.

More than one hundred million people around the world voted through the Internet by text message, with more than 440 attractions from 220 countries. "These wonders survive all the wonders that exist and may exist because they are wonders of nature," were statements by the Brazilian ambassador Enio Cordeiro.

«Our vision of Iguazú as one of the 7 wonders of nature is the promotion of the Falls through a form of tourism that makes a minimal impact on the environment, while helping to create quality jobs for the local population. », said Bernard Werber, who thanked the voters, the Official Support Committees, and the governments of Argentina and Brazil for their commitment to the success of the campaign.

Becoming one of the seven natural wonders of the world resulted, in the first year alone, in an increase in the volume of tourism by approximately 300,000 people.