We left Rio with a 23 hour bus journey ahead of us, unfortunately this turned into a 27 hour journey as our bus broke down half way. Needless to say we were pleased when we arrived at the border city of Foz do Iguazu. Brazil shares the cities two major attractions with its neighbours. The star of the show is the natural wonder, Iguazu falls, which straddles both Brazil and Argentina.
We visited Iguazu falls from the Brazilian side first. It is highly recommended to visit from both countries as each offer a different perspective of the falls. Arriving at the Brazilian entrance feels like walking into a theme park. You are guided onto a tour bus which takes you from the park entrance to the water. Along the way you stop at different locations offering scenic walks, boat tours and rafting experiences, all of which are an added extra to the ticket price. We stick to the main attraction and head straight for the falls.
Stepping off the bus you hear the roaring sound of the water crashing into the rocks. We run down the path eager to catch our first glimpse and are instantly stunned.
When you travel you get used to seeing waterfalls. Yes, they are usually very pleasing to look at and they are almost always guaranteed to be set in beautiful scenery, but after a while they all become very similar.
However, this is not one of these waterfalls. If we put all the waterfalls we had ever seen together it would only cover a fraction of the size of Iguazu. Standing 80 meters high and 2,700 meters in diameter this is truly an awe inspiring site.
We follow the path along the edge of the river until we reach a section which is built into the area of falls known as devils throat.
Looking up at the volume of water teeming over the edge makes you revaluate how powerful water actually is.
As memorising as it is to watch we are soon soaking wet.
We were impressed with what we saw but having only seen a small section we understand why it is necessary to visit the Argentinian side in order to appreciate the full scale.
From the Argentinian side the setup is different. There is a train which takes you to the top of the devils throat where the platform guides you out into the water, right at the edge of these powerful falls. It is both impressive and unnerving.
From the top you are unable to see the walkway which we had stood at on the Brazilian side.
There are a number of trails through the falls providing optimum views from all angles.
The paths over the water tend to be quite narrow and can get crowded so once we had enough off trying to barge past the dawdler’s we swiftly headed to the exit.
Traveling is its most rewarding when you see something which is so breath-taking that no matter how many photos you take none will quite compare to seeing it first-hand. Iguazu falls is one of these places and certainly a highlight of the trip.
