Roaring falls, magnificent views and very wet
If you are going to come to South America, then the Iguazu Falls will be at the top of your “must do” list.
We went a long way out of our way get here and it didn’t disappoint.
There are lots of variations on the way to see the falls. They falls themselves are mainly on the Argentinian side, so you get an up close experience as the boardwalks are built over the actual falls. On the other hand, the view from the Brazilian side is across from the falls, so you get to see the whole panoramic view.
So having looked at the various options we decided to do a whole day trip on the Argentinian side, so you get up close to the falls. We used Tripadvisor and chose a company called Say Hueque Travel and we had a great guide called Bruno, very friendly, spoke great English and really helped make it a fabulous day.
The package we chose covered the three different trails in the Argentinian national park, and the 4×4 truck ride and the power boat ride under the falls themselves. To be honest the 4×4 truck ride wasn’t up to much as it was just a lorry driving through a jungle road btu the rest of it was great.
Our trip was in November, and it transpired that there had been exceptionally heavy rain along the 1000km Iguazu River, so the river was in very high flood, which made the falls exceptionally spectacular.
The jungle train to Devils Throat
Arrival at the park has the normal ceremonies with ticket collection. I hadn’t realised that the park entrance wasn’t included (note for you budget) so had to pay another £20 each to get into the park. This seemed a lot at the time but when you see the infrastructure they have installed it was worth it.
The day starts with the train ride to the far end of the park, and a place called the Devils Throat station. The train is about 20 minutes and then there is a 2km walk along a walkway out to the edge of the falls, this is slow going if you have a big group of slow coaches ahead of you!
The bridges stretch right out to the very edge of the most spectacular part of the falls and I couldn’t but marvel at the human ingenuity to get the walkway into such a dangerous place. I found out later that there is a damn that can slow the flow and at different times of the year. That being said, it is still and incredible structure that is built right up to the edge of the cliff.
It struck me, for some reason, that if you wanted to commit suicide this would be a great place to do it, because there would be absolutely no second chances for a jumper from this boardwalk!
Words cannot really describe the noise and sensory intensity of this part of the Devils Throat. There are better views from the other lookouts but watching the plumes of water vapour rising in clouds from below was a particularly mystical experience.
Once we could take no more water, we trekked back along the bridges to hope on the train back to a bit of civilisation and the middle station on the Jungle Railway which drops us at the Upper Trail and the restaurant area.
Iguazu Falls Upper Trail
The Upper Trail was empty when we assembled for instructions from Bruno, by the time we set off a huge group of Japanese tourists had clogged up the trail, so we had a very slow walk surrounded by idiots with every type of camera, every type of gismo and a tendency to stand in the way wherever there was a good shot.
The two best lookout points along the way were Salto Bosseti where there were spectacular views along the top of the falls towards Salto San Martin which is the end of the trail.
We battled for dominance with the Japanese along the trail, but their numbers were overwhelming and their sense of urgency non-existent, but luckily they are short and I am tall so I was able to get plenty of memories.
One spectacular view from Salto Bossetti is down into the ravine and the power boats that were coming up the river and driving into the falls themselves, which gave us a pretty good idea of what our boat trip was likely to involve.
The main wildlife were the racoon type scrounging creatures. I sat down for a breather in the heat and before I knew it there was a racoon thingy climbing onto my ruck sack, it had clearly sniffed out my Double Decker bar, so I gave it short shrift but not enough to make it angry, as they looked particularly nasty.
Iguazu Falls lower trail.
It probably took 90 minutes to complete the Upper Trail and then it was time for lunch. I have to admit, the food selection was good, with 3 different cafes offering lots of choice so we went for the buffet.
After lunch we had the option of sleeping (which the Mexican opted for) or doing the lower trail, which the Brits, Canadians and Americans chose. It was a very different view as we trekked below many of the outflows, so had water cascading all around us but only got drenched once.
The trail is cut into the hill side and gave a completely different perspective on the various falls and just how tough the terrain is in this region.
After another 2.5km walk we were back at the food halls and searching for the sleeping Mexicans who were having a lovely siesta under a tree. At the point it was time to join the queue for the jungle expedition and the boat ride.
Jungle and water adventures.
Having seen the boats from Salto Bossetti there was no danger we were not going to get wet. Some determined souls found capes and waterproofs, but it did feel like it was going to be a bit futile and so it transpired.
First though, we had the truck ride through the jungle, and our guide seemed to be some form of jungle high priestess, as she clearly worshipped the vegetation. On a number of occasions, the truck stopped just so that we could listen to the silence in the jungle.
The jungle itself was a bit light on creatures, but we did see a few toucans and a couple of giant lizards wandering around without a care in the world. The most amazing sight was the butterflies, they were huge and plentiful and lots of different colour, they are almost impossible to photograph unless they land on someone, but I did get a nice video as we boarded the power boat.
I was first on the boat, grabbed the front seat, got my GoPro ready for the journey and sat back. There isn’t really much to say about the powerboat ride, other than it was very intense, lots of fun and hope you enjoy the videos, they tell the story better than words.
