On the morning of May 8 we flew from Rio de Janeiro to Iguassu falls (the Brazil side). Iguassu falls are a collection of water 275 waterfalls on the border of Brazil and Argentina, and they were recently announced as one of the New 7 Natural Wonders of the World. Of the 275 waterfalls, 75% fall on the Argentinian side and 25% fall on the Brazilian side. Apparently, after visiting Iguassu Falls Eleanor Roosevelt exclaimed “Poor Niagara!”, and I tend to agree with her. Iguassu Falls are absolutely incredible, and in comparison Niagara looks much less impressive!
I had heard from some people that the Brazil side was better, and then from other people that the Argentina side was better, and there seemed to be no consensus to which was the better side, so I thought I would just decide for myself after seeing both. We spent May 8th exploring the Brazilian side and May 9th exploring the Argentinian side. Below is a map of the falls, on the left is the Brazil side and on the right is Argentina.
Iguassu Falls from Brazil: We started off on the Brazil side by taking a walk along the Iguazu river to get to the famous Devil’s Throat waterfall. Along the path we could see a number of amazing waterfalls leading up to Devil’s Throat.
As we approached Devil’s Throat we could see more and more rainbows in the waterfalls! In the background you can see the Devil’s Throat.
As we approached we could see the bridge and balcony to take us up close to Devil’s Throat:
When we finally got to the balcony we had an amazing view of the Devil’s Throat waterfall, along with a beautiful rainbow:
The waterfalls were just breathtaking! I had also never seen so many rainbows! The Brazil side gave us stunning views of the falls, and we got amazing photos. Since we saw the falls from a bit of a distance we had the chance to take in the full glory of them. After seeing this I wondered how Argentina could possibly beat this view!
Iguassu Falls from Argentina: The following day we explored Iguassu Falls from the Argentina side, and it was a whole different experience! We were able to get right up close to Devil’s Throat, close enough that we all got soaked by the mist coming from the falls. It was incredible to see the force of the falls and the volume of water so close!
We also had the opportunity to take a group photo of the whole Contiki group in front of Devil’s Throat:
From the Argentina side we walked along the paths to see the many different waterfalls, and the views were beautiful! There is so much vegetation, and we could see numerous rainbows.
One of the coolest things we did was taking a speed boat along the Iguazu river around and under the falls!
The boat went right under several of the waterfalls, and we were soaked to the core! It was a lot of fun and was well worth it because the views from the boat were awesome!
While exploring the park (on both the Brazil and Argentina side) we had a chance to see some amazing wildlife!
After seeing both sides of the falls I can completely understand why there is a debate about which side is better. Both sides were amazing, but for different reasons. The Brazil side had incredible views. You had the chance to see the falls from amazing angles and since you were a bit farther back you could take in the whole picture of the falls at once. So, in Brazil you could see the falls, but in Argentina you could feel the falls. You could feel their intensity, hear their power, and go underneath them by boat. Choosing a side that is better is very difficult, but if I had to pick just one side I would pick Brazil. Being able to see the falls from the Brazilian angles was breathtaking. The whole experience was awesome, and I’m so glad I got the full experience of Iguassu Falls!
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