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)
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…”
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.
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.
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.
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.