Iguazu Falls

Lots of people had booked tours today, so it was an early breakfast of overnight oats and fresh fruit. We had booked through Get Your Guide to visit the falls from both the Brazilian side and the Argentine side on the same day. Gill, Trudi, and Shonagh were on the same tour.

Iguazú Falls are waterfalls on the Iguazu River on the border of Argentina and Brazil. Together, they make up the largest waterfall system in the world. The falls divide the river into the upper and lower Iguazu. The Iguazu River rises near the heart of the city of Curitiba. For most of its course, the river flows through Brazil; however, most of the falls are on the Argentine side. The name Iguazú comes from the Guarani or Tupi words "y", meaning "water", and "ûasú", meaning "big". Legend has it that a deity planned to marry a beautiful woman named Naipí, who fled with her mortal lover, Tarobá in a canoe. In a rage, the deity sliced the river, creating the waterfalls and condemning the lovers to an eternal fall. The first European to record the falls' existence was the Spanish Conquistador, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, in 1541. It was inscribed into the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2013.

The staircase character of the falls consists of a two-step waterfall formed by three layers of basalt. The steps are 35 and 40 metres in height. Numerous islands along the 2.7-kilometre-long edge divide the falls into many separate waterfalls and cataracts, varying between 60 and 82 m high. The number of these smaller waterfalls fluctuates from 150 to 300, depending on the water level. About half of the river's flow falls into a long and narrow chasm called the Devil's Throat. This canyon is 80–90 metres wide and 70–80 metres deep.

On the Brazilian side, a walkway along the canyon extends to the lower base of the Devil's Throat. The Argentine access, across the forest, is by a Rainforest Ecological Train very similar to the one in Disney's Animal Kingdom. The train brings visitors to the entrance of Devil's Throat, as well as the upper and lower trails. The Paseo Garganta del Diablo is a 1 km-long (0.6 mi) trail that brings visitors directly over the falls of Devil's Throat, the highest and deepest of the falls. Other walkways allow access to the elongated stretch of falls across the forest on the Argentine side and to the boats that connect to San Martin Island. Also on the Argentine side, inflatable boat services take visitors very close to the falls.

We were picked up by minibus at 8.20am. We were the last to be collected. There were only a handful of others on the tour. All were English speakers. Our guide explained to us what the day would involve, and we set off towards the national park on the Brazilian side of the Falls. Once there, it was a quick and easy process to buy our entrance tickets for the national park. Then, it was back on our bus to drive to the falls themselves.

Our first view was a real 'wow' moment. Unlike Victoria Falls, which we visited on our long Africa trip, these falls are visible from the road. For those with mobility problems, this is a huge bonus. For the rest of us, this was the start of a trail which led to the bottom of Devil's Throat. On the way, we took hundreds of photos between us!Læs mere