After spending 3 weeks with my family in the south of Brazil - as we do every year to escape the Canadian winter - we flew to Foz do Iguaçu, in Paraná State to visit this magnificent natural attraction: the biggest waterfall system in the world.
We started our exploration on the Argentinean side, at the Iguazú National Park.
Our day began early, at 8am. We joined a tour group and a van picked us up at the the place we were staying. There are many different tours, with various prices and routes. Ours was a small group - 8 adults and 3 children - with an English and Portuguese speaking guide. I believe they have tours in many different languages. The tour cost us R$105 (CAN$ 40) per adult - the children were free.
I am glad we paid for this tour instead of driving ourselves because the guides can cut through the bureaucracy of crossing the borders. Still, the line ups were long and it took us more than half an hour to cross each way. It was stress free for us, but we also had to stick with the tour guide's plans and schedule.
It cost us 500 (about US$20) Argentinean pesos per person to enter the park.
I paid 100 pesos less because I am Brazilian.
Once we got in the park we walked for about 15 minutes to catch the train to take us to the falls. It was a nice walk through the forest, full of small surprises.
The monkeys were the highlights. They can be seen in pairs on brunches, just hanging out.
These guys are the QUATIS, and they are everywhere. They are a kind of raccoon and can be pretty aggressive if you are carrying food. But they are still adorable.
Quatis are here, there, everywhere.
The tittle tram takes you right to the falls trails, and it's a fun little ride - especially for the kids.
The whole park has this metal walkway system, bringing the visitors very close to the falls.
Beauties like this one were also everywhere and they loved to just land all over anyone. This and other types of butterflies are a very pleasant companion throughout the whole tour, unless you suffer of lepidopterophobia (fear of butterflies).
They landed on hats, clothes, bags and all over our bodies.
The Devil's Throat.
Big scenery, with a special rainbow touch.
Kids loved the little train.
FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguazu_Falls
The Iguazu Falls are waterfalls of the Iguazu River on the border of the Argentine province of Misiones and the Brazilian state of Paraná. 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 city of Curitiba. For most of its course, the river flows through Brazil; however, most of the falls are on the Argentine side. Below its confluence with the San Antonio River, the Iguazu River forms the boundary between Argentina and Brazil.
The name "Iguazú" comes from the Guarani or Tupi words, 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 existence of the falls was the Spanish conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca in 1541.
Mommy and daughter moment.
We were all smile, all day.
FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguazu_Falls
The Iguazu Falls are arranged in a way that resembles a reversed letter "J". The border between Brazil and Argentina runs through the Devil's Throat. On the right bank is the Brazilian territory, which has just over 20% of the jumps of these falls, and the left side jumps are Argentine, which makes up almost 80% of the falls.
The falls may be reached from two main towns, with one on either side of the falls: Puerto Iguazú in Argentina and Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil, as well as from Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, on the other side of the Paraná River from Foz do Iguaçu. The falls are shared by the Iguazú National Park (Argentina) and Iguaçu National Park (Brazil). The two parks were designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1984 and 1987, respectively.
My little Buddha appreciating the power of nature.
I love this bird! I am not sure what they are called, but they are a plush-crested jay and can be easily found on trees in the park.
FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguazu_Falls
The Iguazu Falls experience a humid subtropical climate (Cfa, according to the Köppen climate classification) with abundant precipitation and high temperatures year-round. During the summer of 2006, a severe drought caused the Iguazu River to become diminished, reducing the amount of water flowing over the falls to 300 cubic metres per second (11,000 cu ft/s) until early December. This was unusual, as dry periods normally last only a few weeks.
If you visiting the Argentinean park, I suggest you dedicate a full day for it. We felt like we were rushed a bit and we could explore it even more. We did the upper and the lower trails - among other trails - and each one takes a bit more than an hour to be completed.
Me and my friend.
This was the most fun part easily accessed by the lower trail. We were right there at the bottom of the falls, here it meets the river. Pictures can never show the real feeling of being right beside this extremely powerful nature wonder. The mist got us all soaked, which made us feel even better with all the heat and humidity.
This is the end of the lower trail: the two sisters falls.
They are called Maria and Teresa, named after a politician's daughter a long time ago.
I couldn't resist to have my little ones, the sisters, posing n front of these cute smaller falls.
Again the two sisters.
Although the weather forecast was calling for rain all day, it came just late afternoon. At the point the rain was much welcomed by us.
Fifi used a big loose leaf as an umbrella to protect her head.
End of the tour.
We finished our falls park exploration at about 5:30pm, with nice empanadas and Argentinean beer.
Photo by 4 year old Fifi.
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