She's a waterfall...Iguacu

Iguacu Falls

And on we went to a town called Foz do Iguacu, in the south of the country, bordering Argentina. We were here for one reason and one reason only. The Iguacu (Brazil) or Iguazu (Arg) waterfalls which are one of the largest systems in the world, dwarfing even Niagara Falls. We were to go across the border to see the falls from the Argentinian side and then come back and see them from the Brazilian side. 

On the first night we stayed in Brazil as it was too late to cross the border – there were no buses at 9pm going over the border, and a taxi was 150 Reais which is about £40. I still have no idea what time the buses stop in the evening but I think it may be around 7.30pm. I couldn’t find any information on this online. We ended up booking into a little place which wasn’t even in the town itself, but was about 3km from the border. It was a lovely place and in the morning it was really easy to walk to the border, get our passports stamped and then jump on a bus into town, to pick up another bus or taxi to the falls (if you share a cab it will be the same price). 

 

The Argentinian side was 500 Pesos which is £22 and then we paid an extra 550 Pesos each for the boat ride under the ‘Devil’s Throat’ which is the biggest part of the falls. 

Top of Devil's Throat - Argentinian side

The routes through the park were really not well signposted but we ended up walking round the upper circuit, and then taking the lower circuit before getting to the boat area for 1pm. The falls were absolutely breath-taking and although the number of people was a bit annoying (we went on a Sunday stupidly), it was one of the best things we’ve seen. The park is full of monkeys and coatis which were entertaining, and we spoke to a lot of lovely local people. The boat trip was awesome. 

Coati

The boat ride lasted around 20 minutes and we went right under the falls 3 or 4 times, getting completely drenched in the process. This is a must-do for anyone visiting. After a bit of lunch we found the free train which took us up to the top of ‘Devil’s Throat’ for the most amazing views of the waterfalls. Absolutely unreal. 

Getting soaked in the boat

That night we stayed in Puerto Iguazu in Argentina, treating ourselves to a bottle of Argentinian red and a steak of course.

A bit worse for wear the next morning, we made our way back across the border to our Brazilian hosts who were looking after our luggage and we headed off to the Brazilian side of the falls. We had a 10km bus ride from our hotel, but the actual centre of the town is even further than that, probably another 13km, so we were definitely staying in the right place.

Brazilian side

Brazilian side

The Brazilian side cost 64 Reais each which is £30 and although it is a must-see from this side, I felt that was overpriced especially in comparison with the Argentinian side where you need a whole day to see them properly. We were on the Brazilian side for no more than 2 hours. Again, spectacular. No description I can give can do these falls justice. Have some facts instead.

The edge of the falls is 2.7km long.

The height of the falls ranges from 60 to 82m high.

There are up to 300 falls depending on rainfall.

Just around the corner from the entrance to the Brazilian side of the falls is Parque das Aves or, the Bird Park. This is an education, conservation, rehabilitation and wildlife park for mainly birds, but also for butterflies and some reptiles such as tortoises, iguanas, anacondas and caymans.

 

The entrance fee was 40 Reais, or £10 each but it was really worthwhile. They have birds of all shapes and sizes like pink flamingos, owls, eagles, cassowaries, a variety of parrots, toucans and lots more. It was even possible to go into some of the larger cages where the macaws would swoop past you nearly taking your head off.

The next day we relaxed for as long as we could before heading to the town to take the bus to Blumenau, 18 hours away.


#iguacufalls 
#iguazufalls

#parquedasaves