I know TLC told us that we shouldn’t go chasing waterfalls, but I bet you Chilli, Left Eye and T-Boz have never seen the Iguazu Falls in Argentina. If so, they would never “stick to the rivers and the lakes that they were used to”. Instead they would be taking speed boats under massive water avalanches, zip-cording through the jungle and repelling blindly off giant cliffs.
Me at Iguazu FallsThese waterfalls are ridiculous. There’s no doubt why they are considered one of the greatest natural wonders in the world. Seeing the incredible magnitude of these bad boys almost makes me feel sorry for Niagara. Don’t get me wrong, I love Niagara Falls, I grew up with them virtually in my backyard. They have been a great excuse to cross into Canada between ages 19 and 21. Both are great for their own reasons, but both are completely different.
Niagara Falls is developed and commercialized. Iguazu Falls is… jungle. You drive down a busy street filled with souvenir shops and restaurants to see limited viewpoints of the Niagara Falls. You walk down a dirt path lined with exotic birds and plants to see a million different views of the Igauzu Falls.
If done right, I think you only need one solid day to cover the falls and surrounding area. This is how I managed to experience the best of Iguazu Falls in only one long, amazing day (and night).
Iguazu FallsAs an American citizen I would have had to pay $100+ dollars to get a VISA just to get a different prospective of the falls. The Brazil side gives you a viewpoint from above which is great, but if you have limited time and money (like me), the Argentina side will more than suffice.
This is a great way to start your day in Iguazu. It wakes you up and gets you in the jungle spirit. I stayed at the Sheraton Hotel on the Park’s premise, which makes it easy to just wake up, walk through the lobby and right onto the trail that leads down to the falls. If you stay in town or another hotel you can easily get to the park with a quick drive, shuttle or taxi (ask first about park fees).
The hike itself was a beautiful 20-minute walk through the forest and across narrow bridges down to the river’s edge. My favorite part about the walk was that we had a chance to see one of the park’s most popular residents, the raccoon-like Coati. They popped in and out of sight along the way but didn’t seem too impressed that it was my first time here.
The Coati - The Park's Most Popular ResidentThere are two options when choosing a boat tour around the falls. The first starts with a long 4×4 ride through the jungle before you get on a boat and tour the falls. The second is a fast & furious, 10-minute, A.D.D friendly adventure that skips everything but getting you completely soaked. Although it was $45 pesos a pop for the short trip, we took the advice of other travelers and chose the second option. It was perfect.
They pick you up in this small, 20-person life raft and take off straight towards one end of the falls. Once in close range, the driver yells “photos, photos, photos” and you have a few moments to snap your best shots. Seconds later he instructs us to pack everything back into the waterproof bags as he positions the boat for power wash. Next thing you know the boat lunges forward and suddenly you’re getting dumped on by the amazing force of the water. The boat zips in and out, each time going deeper and deeper into the falls. Just when we thought the shower was over the driver speeds off to the other canal of the falls to rinse and repeat. We emerge laughing, drenched and relieved. It was the perfect way to see the falls up close and personal. The only thing that sucked was walking back up to the hotel in our soaking wet clothes.
Ahhhh!!!!Once we challenged the falls I wanted to get out and cruise around the jungle a bit. So I changed out of my wet clothes and took off on a hiking, rapelling and zip-lining tour. A group of us were picked up from the hotel in a giant, 4×4 truck/bus and taken a few miles into the forest. From there we hiked a bit through the thick jungle until we reached a giant cliff overlooking a beautiful river. We strapped into rappelling gear and were told to jump our way down. I’m not going to lie, it scared me a bit at first because you were just supposed to drop off this ledge, down the face of this rocky cliff with only a cord, plastic helmet and cheering tourists supporting you.
Fortunately, there was a 9-year old girl who went before me to make sure everything was okay. I couldn’t wimp out now. So, I strapped into the line, leaned back and took a big leap of faith over the edge. I landed steady on another rocky section and quickly hurled backwards again. In a few quick, exhilarating leaps I made it down.
Rappelling DownAfter the whole group descended successfully, we hiked our way to this giant tree house in the middle of nowhere. From there we all climbed up a ridiculously unsteady ladder, clipped ourselves into another safety line and one-by-one we all zip-lined through the jungle.
There were 4 different towers along the way where you had to unstrap from one line and connect to another. The steps were often shaky and without much support but once you strapped in and took off any fear quickly gave way to the feeling of a parrot flying along the treetops. After harnessing my inner Tarzan we did some more hiking along these beautiful secluded rivers and waterfalls as we made our way back to the truck. It was an incredible day that was capped off by getting to see some of the villages and indigenous people that inhabit Iguazu.
Flying Through the JungleAfter a much needed siesta I headed downtown to Puerto Iguazu for some dinner and cocktails. The best way to cap off a long day of bathing in waterfalls and swinging through the jungle is dancing it up at the Cuba Libre Nightclub downtown.
I turned in late and woke up early to catch the flight back to Buenos Aires. It was one full day in paradise that I can tell all my friends about while drinking beer and playing video games at Boston Pizza as I over look the Niagara Falls back home.
- Gareth Leonard
Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s Argentina tours & things to do, Argentina attractions, and Argentina travel recommendations, especially the Full Day Tour to Iguazu Falls.
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