Garganta del Diablo

The name of the waterfalls Iguazu means "great water" in the Guarani language. The Spanish explorers renamed it the Santa Maria cascades in the 16th century, but they couldn't get the name to stick.

The Iguazu Falls are located where the Iguazu River tumbles over the edge of the Paraná Plateau, 23 kilometres upriver from the Iguazu's confluence with the Paraná River. 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 (Garganta del Diablo in Spanish or Garganta do Diabo in Portuguese). The Devil's Throat is U-shaped and 82 m × 150 m × 700 m. The falls are so high with such a large amount of water that the mist can rise as much as 150 metres in the air.

As we walked towards the Devil's Throat, the anticipation increased. We could see the spray and hear the sound of the water from far. The final sight just blew us away. The sight has to be seen by one's own eyes to really appreciate it. The roar of the huge amount of water falling down was deafening. The spray of the water covered half the waterfall. It was a mesmerizing and a humbling sight at the same time.Read more