Iguazu Falls – 8th – 10th December

 

Situated on three borders, the Iguazu Falls are pushing to become one of the seven natural wonders of the world, and with good reason…they are absolutely mind blowing. We stayed at a great hostel on the Argentine side, called La Guembe, which is a very relaxed and quiet little place with the best Caipirinas in town & very friendly staff. It’s a small little town, totally geared around the Falls and the subsequent tourism. We got a lift to the Waterfalls with the hostel owner as we bought one of his boat trips, which I would highly recommend. You go on a unimog through the jungle and although you cannot see much wildlife, it’s a fun trip. Then you board a speed boat, which takes you up the river for about 20 mins and then gets close to the falls, making sure you get an absolute drenching. It is really spectacular to get so close to them and feel the power of the water as it comes crashing down on your head!

The park itself is very well set out – there are lots of footpaths through the jungle for you to follow and the various viewing platforms for the waterfalls are located at spectacular points, for example, right at the top of the falls so you can look over the edge and at the side so you can almost touch the water! There are many falls, with the most spectacular undoubtedly being the Devil’s Throat, which is incredible. There is also a train which you can ride on, taking you further around the park. If you like birds and butterflies, you will be spoilt here – sometimes we saw so many that it looked like leaves fluttering around in the wind – absolutely beautiful. For 60 pesos (about 10 pounds) you get entry into the Falls, which is great value considering how much there is to do. If you want to return the next day, it’s only 30 pesos, so great if you just fancy doing more walking or having a picnic in some very spectacular surroundings. Although it’s a long bus ride from Buenos Aires, I would highly recommend the falls, as it really is a once in a lifetime sight and definitely deserves being a new natural world wonder! JG