Safari to Iguacu Norte

arguably the most impressive waterfalls in the world

Set around 1100 km (660 miles) to the southeast of Rio de Janeiro and straddling the border with Argentina, the Iguacu Falls is almost certainly the most impressive set of waterfalls in the world.

The falls are located on the Rio Iguacu, 14km (8.5 miles) upstream from its confluence with the Rio Paraná, the waters combining to flow south all the way to the Atlantic Ocean at Buenos Aires.

Sited at this confluence is the town of Foz do Iguacu, which is the main hub on the Brazil side and the location of the main airport.

The native Guaraní people recount an ancient legend of a god who wanted to marry a beautiful girl, but when she eloped with her lover in a canoe, the god sliced the river in two with the side of his hand and condemned the pair to a punishment of eternally falling.

The first European to record the existence of the falls was the Spanish conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca in 1541.

The falls themselves plunge from a high plateau into a horseshoe-shaped canyon. The main body of water plunges over the centre of the horseshoe in a cataract known as the Devil’s Throat (Garganta del Diablo). To either side the face of the falls is punctuated by small islands, which break the flow into between 150-300 smaller cascades, depending on the season.

There is eternal disagreement over which side of the falls provides the better viewing. The Brazil side delivers a broader overview of the face of the falls. The Argentina side includes a number of dramatic boardwalks that lead out various points along the top of the falls. The bottom line is that you probably need to see them from both sides, which is easy enough to do.

The falls are surrounded by a protected area of rare Atlantic rainforest (around 6000 square kilometres or 2300 square miles), which is home to many endemic species (including elusive jaguars and giant anteaters) and is worthy of further investigation during your stay.

Although there are loads of places to stay in the area, only a handful are of the quality that one might expect at a location of this importance.

The best time to visit the Iguacu Falls is generally considered to be during the two shoulder seasons of Apr-Jun and Oct-Dec.

Domestic connections

The Iguacu area is served by two airports …

On the Brazil side there is the Foz do Iguacu Airport (IGU), which has connections to Sao Paulo and Rio. For other locations in Brazil (like Pantanal and Amazon) it’s usually necessary to fly via Sao Paulo.

From the airport it’s a road transfer of around 15 minutes to any of the lodges on this side, about an hour or more to the lodges across the border in Argentina.

On the Argentina side there is the Cataratas del Iguacu Airport (IGR), which has connections to Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Salta. For other locations in Argentina (Mendoza, Bariloche, Los Glaciares, Ushuaia and Peninsula Valdes) it’s usually necessary to fly via the capital.

From the airport it’s a road transfer of around 15 minutes to Gran Meliá Iguacu and around 40 minutes to the other hotels over by the small town of Puerto Iguacu.

International connections

Foz do Iguacu Airport is very well connected internationally, via Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo. So much so that the airport is often used as a starting point for trips to Argentina, instead of Buenos Aires. You simply fly in here, cross the border to Argentina and continue onwards on domestic flights.

Where to stay

We almost always recommend a stay of at least three nights in this area. Two night stays are possible, but relatively unusual.

Argentina side

If you were to stay all three nights on one side or the other, then it would almost certainly be in Argentina, since it offers a wider range of both lodges and activities. Please refer to the following link to view the lodge options on the Argentina side…

Brazil and Argentina combo

We sometimes recommend splitting a stay in the area, deploying two nights in Argentina and one night over at the Belmond Hotel Das Cataratas in Brazil. This is a particularly good option around the full moon, since from this latter lodge you are free to wander around the various boardwalks and trails any time of the day or night (which is most definitely not the case over in Argentina).

Brazil side

If you want to stay only on the Brazil side, then that’s more than possible. You will most likely need to travel across the border at least once to view the falls from the other side, but that’s not a big deal. The most common reason to do this would be for unusually short stays of just one or two nights. However the range of accommodation on this side is remarkably limited for such a famous location.

the biggest seasonal factor is the water flow rate