Iguazu Falls from the Argentine side

Iguazu Falls viewed from Argentina

The people who have been on our overland truck for awhile have talked a lot about their visits to Iguazu Falls, on both the Argentinian and Brazilian sides. We won’t get there this trip, so I could be jealous, but it’s not necessary. We went last year and it was amazing.

A rainbow with no rain

In fact, Poor John and I were lucky enough to see these spectacular falls from both the Argentine and Brazilian sides. I even got to see them from the air—on a brief helicopter ride.

These falls are incredible—even overwhelming. So much so that in 2011, Iguazu was included in the New Seven Wonders of Nature.

It’s a well-deserved accolade. Iguazu is three times higher than Niagara Falls in North America and about a kilometre wider than Victoria Falls in Africa. At 2.7 kilometres in length, Iguazu is the longest waterfall in the world.

It doesn’t have the largest single drop of water (that title goes to Victoria Falls) because the many islands on the Iguazu River create from 150 to 300 individual waterfalls, depending on water levels. The highest and deepest drop is the Devil’s Throat, which is part of the border between Argentina and Brazil, and has water rushing over the edge from three sides.

A legend says that a god planned to marry a beautiful woman named Naipi. But she and her lover, Tarobá, ran away in a canoe. In rage, the god sliced the river, creating the waterfalls and condemning the pair to an eternal fall.

We first saw the falls from the Argentine side, which meant we were looking at Brazil’s 20 per cent of the flow.

Catching the train to the falls

Argentina has an eco-friendly train that takes you to the falls. We left the train early so we could walk the kilometre-long trail—Paseo Garganta del Diablo—that would take us to the famous Devil’s Throat.

The walk treated us to incredible views of the many waterfalls on both sides, and much more. At one point, we could stand and see 260 dgerees of waterfall.

A sign near the falls asks viewers to note the colour of the water. It says that four decades ago, the water ran crystal clear, but that forest clearance has allowed soil to run into the river and turn the flow to reddish brown. It says the turbidity affects wildlife. It prevents fish from courting and spawning, and makes it hard for fish-eating birds and mammals to find prey.

A coati looks innocent enough, but don’t be fooled—they want your lunch

The turbidity doesn’t seem to have any effect on the aggressive coatis, also known as Brazilian aardvarks. They’re members of the raccoon family, and about the size of a large house cat. There are warnings posted everywhere, to remind tourists that coatis will steal your lunch and bite and scratch an outstretched hand that does—or doesn’t—feed them. Too many tourists have ‘befriended’ them, so now they expect handouts. We stayed well away, and saw several tourists robbed of their lunches.

We also saw lots of reptiles, butterflies and birds. In fact, I’m going to do separate entries on the wildlife, the view from the Brazilian side and the helicopter ride.

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