Incredible Iguazu Falls : A Natural Wonder of the World

After spending close to a week in Buenos Aires, it was time to head to northern Argentina for some warmer weather (seasons are flipped in the Southern Hemisphere, weather was 50 and cloudy all week) up to Iguazú to see the incredible Iguazu Falls, the largest waterfall system in the world.

After landing at IGR airport, we took a taxi to our hotel, the Falls Iguazu Hotel & Spa, which turned out to be an awesome accommodation. Something unique about Iguazu is that it is so wide, that it is actually in two countries. 80% of the falls are in Argentina, and another 20% are in Brazil. I wanted to cross the border and get to the Brazil side, but Brazil had enacted a new Visa requirement for Americans coming to Brazil. My research leading up to the trip had turned me off going to the Brazil side, because I was not sure if we had time for it, it can take a while to process, and it is pretty expensive.

Our taxi driver on the way to the hotel asked how long we were staying and I told him one night. He then asked if we were heading to the Brazil side and I stated no, as we don’t have visas. He gave me a confused look and said no. This prompted my interest to do some more investigating. Once arriving at the hotel, I asked the front desk about the visa requirement and they initially said it wasn’t, but they would double check and let us know. We made our way up to the room and soon got a phone call from a desk, there was no visa requirement, and they were able to get us a driver to cross the border. This was news to my ears, let’s go!

(Upon further research following the trip, the visa requirement was postponed and is going into effect April 10, 2025 as of 6/3/2024)

Shortly after the phone call we were in the lobby with our driver on the way. She came into the lobby, made sure we had our passports, and we got into the car and headed to the Brazilian border.

Once we arrived to the border, the process was pretty simple, we gave our passports to our driver and she took care of the paperwork and everything else. After a few minutes at the checkpoint, we were in Brazil.

Thus only 20% of the falls being on the Brazil side, their park is much smaller. We got the entrance, bought our ticket, and hopped on a bus to take us to the falls.

The ride was longer than I had expected, but after a while we made it. We began our walk on the trail and were greeted by multiple coatis. Which is an animal that is essentially a hybrid of a raccoon and anteater. Pretty unique. After a short walk, we began to hear the roar of the waterfalls, and finally got our first look at them.

(This video is actually from the Argentina side. See more photos/videos in the gallery section of site)

I was taken away by the view of the waterfalls, and it was only beginning. Being honest, I was thinking going into this Iguazu trip that I would be let down a bit. What more is there to do than look at the falls, say that’s cool, and move on? I have heard from people who have seen Niagara Falls that that’s essentially what it is. Cool to see, but not life changing. Iguazu is the complete opposite. Truly incredible that something like this exists on Earth. A what appears to be, never ending waterfall.

Something really cool about the falls is the constant presence of rainbows throughout them. The way the light and water reflects (or however it works) produces the cool colors, which the iPhone camera picks up well. Even more exciting, I finally found the leprechaun at the end of the rainbow! Here he is:

The last part of the Brazil side is a platform that takes you over the water right in front of one of the falls, where you get SOAKED. It is pretty nuts the amount of water that gets misted up/out from the falls. The mist doesn’t look like it would get you soaked, but don’t be fooled. It felt like getting hosed down from all angles. Nonetheless, cool to feel as if you’re in the middle of the falls.

We finished up the trek, hopped back onto the bus, and headed back to the entrance. Where we had to wait over an hour for our drive to come back, as she was stuck in traffic. She assigned us a new driver (a big shoutout to Jose) who refused to sit in traffic and instead, took to the shoulder to fly past all of the cars. It’s survival of the fittest on South American roads. Jose needs a shot at nascar or F1, he plays no games behind the wheel.

We got back to the Falls Iguazu and Spa, who had a solid dinner buffet (and breakfast) included in the price. That is pure class.

It was now Friday morning and it was time for Argentina. I spent the first few hours of the day working in a community area of the hotel. Another thank you to our hotel for storing our luggage even after we checked out. I made sure to get Jose’s number from the night before, and asked if he could take us the next day (today). He agreed and came to pick us up around 1:30. Like most there, Jose does not speak English if anyone was wondering.

Our chauffeur (Jose) dropped us off at the entrance and told us to text him 20 minutes before we would be done. He also told us we would spend around 3-4 hours in the park, which would be much longer than we spent on the Brazil side.

We made our way through the entrance and hopped on a train to take us to the start of the trails. Unlike Brazil, Argentina actually has 2 different trails, an upper and a lower trail. (They had another one, but it got destroyed when the largest waterfall in the falls -Devil’s Throat- flooded).

We opted to start off going on the upper trail. What was the first animal we saw…? A tarantula. Great start for someone who is deathly afraid of spiders.

I don’t want to bore you with much of the same thing, but the Argentina side has much more to explore. Long trials that weave through the forest the falls, cool bridges through the forest where you walk over the river, and much more.

I am very happy we were able to see the Brazil side before Argentina, since Brazil offers a much more panoramic view of the falls. It allowed me to appreciate the Argentina side more, getting up close to the  falls we had seen from afar yesterday.

On top of more incredible views of the falls, we were lucky enough to see a lot of wildlife: Tarantulas (yes, plural. Saw more than one), pretty birds, more coatis, monkeys, and a cayman - Which everyone told us we were super lucky to see. There is tons of snakes in the forest, but I am very thankful we did not see any of those. It’s safe to say Iguazu is not a place you want to end up in at night or off the beaten path. Or even worse, both of those at the same time. It is over for you, big guy.

In the end, Iguazu Falls impressed me big time. Completely exceeded by expectations and is a must visit, and well worth the trip.

If I had to pick only one side, I would choose the Argentina side. A lot more to explore with the multiple trails, and more opportunities to see wildlife. On top of just walking the trails, there is other excursions available on either side such as boat rides up close to the falls, and helicopter rides to get an aerial view (something that I would really like to do if I ever make it back). Nevertheless, both sides are well worth the visit, and needed to truly appreciate the beautiful falls.

It’s remarkable how places like this exist. After some research, it turns out Iguazu spills 3.5 million gallons of water every second. Yes, every single second. I hope that helps put into perspective just how massive they are.

While the Boca Juniors soccer game was the coolest cultural experience of the trip, this was by far the coolest thing I saw this trip. And even further, one of the most incredible pieces of nature I have EVER seen.

Thank you Iguazu (and Jose) for a truly incredible experience.