November 28 – 30, 2023
After our three days in El Calafate, we flew back to Buenos Aires. My parents would remain there for the rest of the trip; I continued on early the next morning (as in the flight left at 5:15 a.m. so it began boarding at 4:30 a.m. so I had to be at the airport between by 3:00 a.m. so my Uber to the airport came to pick me up at 2:45 am so I had to be awake between 2:00 and 2:15 a.m.) to go to Iguazú.
I had never been to Iguazú before. My parents didn’t go with me because they had both gone the last time the rest of the family went together, in 2010. I was working at a summer day-camp with the YMCA that year, and couldn’t have gotten away for more than a week. Since you need at least that amount of time to enjoy Buenos Aires alone, it didn’t make sense for me to go, so I stayed home alone. I was long overdue for a trip to the rainforest.
The Falls
The waterfalls of Iguazú are absolutely magnificent, regardless of which side you’re seeing them from. Now, when you hear or read or talk about Iguazú Falls, you’ll hear talk about “sides.” What they mean is which side of the Iguazú river – the Argentine side, or the Brazilian side. The Argentine side has 80% of the 275 individual falls that are part of the whole Iguazú Falls system. But the Brazilian side has the best views of the whole thing. Unfortunately, these days, it costs quite a bit extra to visit both sides – if you’re staying on the Argentine side, for example, and want to visit the Brazilian side, it’ll cost something like $150 (American dollars) to get the visa to cross over, besides waiting in line for potentially 2-4 hours.
The National Park
The falls themselves are located within Iguazú Falls National Park, in the Paraná Forest. There are a number of trails that wind through the forest, and several of them offer views of the falls. The Upper and Lower Circuits in particular offer some of the best views of the waterfalls. As their names imply, they take you on either a path along the top of the falls or a path that offers views of the falls from lower down.
A third trail that offers views of the falls is the Devil’s Throat (Garganta del Diablo) Lookout Trail, although to my regret it was closed when I was there as part of it had been completely destroyed during a recent flooding event.
Other walking trails that do not offer views of the main system of waterfalls include the Sendero (Trail) Macuco and the Sendero Verde. The Sendero Macuco is one of the best trails for viewing wildlife, although you will need to use bug repellent. The mosquitoes were so bad when I went I had to turn back because I did not have any mosquito spray, so I only got to see a few birds.
Walk the Trails
The first and most important activity you’ll want to participate in is a walk along at least one of the two Circuits, Upper or Lower, if you can. The Upper Circuit is, by the way, fully wheelchair accessible, while the Lower Circuit is partially accessible – it has some stairs, with ramps in some places where there are stairs but not all.
Wildlife
Aside from the falls, Iguazú is a wonderful place to see a variety of tropical wildlife. Allow yourself a day to see the falls, maybe two if you want to go to both sides. And then allow yourself at least another day, maybe two, to see wildlife. I wish I’d had more time, because even as much as I got to see, I only got to see one of several iconic species.
Birds
Among other animals, there are hundreds of species of birds. I identified 30 species just at the hotel I was staying at while walking for a couple hours around the grounds. Among others, I saw Yellow-chevroned Parakeets, a Squirrel Cuckoo, Southern Lapwings, a Plumbeous Kite, five different species of flycatcher, Purple-throated and Violaceous Euphonias, and a Green-headed tanager.
At the park I saw a number of others, including the Plush-crested Jay, the Red-rumped Cacique, the Glittering-bellied Emerald (a hummingbird), the Surucua Trogon, and the most iconic bird of the falls, the Great Dusky Swift. This incredible little bird actually roosts and nests behind the falls themselves, behind the curtain of water that normally flows at a rate of 396,258 gallons of water per second. Whenever you visit the falls you can see the birds flitting in and out of the incredible flow of water as they move back and forth between their nests and their food sources.
Other bird species you will likely see are both Black and Turkey Vultures, which were less exciting to me because they’re a dime a dozen in the Houston area where I live. You may also see the King Vulture, any of three species of toucan, and Harpy Eagle, which were all among my target species that I did not get to see.
Cats
Among the wildlife I did not get to see but which you may if you are lucky are cats. There are seven species of cat living in the forest of Iguazú, and they range in size from the third largest cat in the world to one of the smallest. They are the jaguar, puma, jaguarundi, ocelot, margay, Geoffroy’s Cat, and tirica.
For the most part, it is only the lucky who get to see these elusive creatures in the wild. Knowing where and when to find them only gets you so far. You may have a better chance if you are around later in the evening, as the cats are nocturnal, but the National Park closes at 6 p.m., with hours left until it gets dark. The park doesn’t open until after sunrise at 8 a.m.
Coati
Another very common animal that is much more visible than the cats is the coati. They form family groups of up to forty individuals. And while they do have strong social bonds, they are also very competitive when it comes to food and other resources. And don’t let that cute little face fool you – they can be aggressive, and they can and do bite.
Coati are related to raccoons. They live in the trees but feed on the ground, and are opportunistic omnivores. They’ll eat leaves and fruit; insects, centipedes, and other invertebrates; lizards; rodents; and eggs.
Tapir
Another iconic mammal in the South American rainforests is the tapir, which lives near permanent sources of water and enjoys hanging out in water and mud. And I didn’t get to see this one, either.
The Lowland Tapir is the largest mammal in South America – the camelids like the llama, vicuña, guanaco, or alpaca may be taller, but at a maximum of 710 pounds (322 kilograms), the tapir outweighs even the largest of the camelids, the llama, at up to 400 pounds. They look a little pig-like, but they’re actually more closely related to horses and rhinoceroses.
Monkeys
Another animal I did not get to see was a monkey, which was unfortunate, because I understand that capuchins are one of the animals that actually tend to frequent the areas where people are on purpose. There are a handful of species, including the black and hooded capuchins; the black and brown howler monkeys; and the Azara’s night monkey.
You do need to be careful of the monkeys. Do to the fact that people like to feed them, many are unafraid of people and will get very close. They will steal food, and if you try to pet them they may bite.
Reptiles
There are also, of course, reptiles in the rainforests of Iguazu. Among others, you may find caimans, a relative of the crocodile, and snakes, including the enormous green anaconda, which is so big it can eat just about any animal that comes close to the water in which it hides. This includes caimans, deer, and tapir.
I did not get to see any caiman or snakes. I did however get to see the Argentine black and white tegu, a lizard a little smaller than an iguana. It was wandering across the grounds of my hotel, and I spotted it out of the corner of my eye as I was walking around doing some birding.
Amphibians
There are also a number of amphibian species, including the probably familiar poison dart frog. I did not look for any amphibians while I was there, due to time constraints. If I’d had a week in Iguazu maybe I would have looked for animals in all the major classes (mammals, birds, fish, etc.). Or maybe I still wouldn’t have thought about that and just focused on looking for my target species.
Insects/Spiders/Other Invertebrates
And of course, it goes without saying that the rainforest has lots of bugs. There are many kinds of insects, spiders, snails and slugs, and other invertebrates. You do want to be careful of them, because many of them have a very painful bite or sting. At one point along the Upper Circuit trail I leaned against the rail and received a very painful sting from something on my belly. I never saw what it was that stung me, but I had a raised and itchy red welt there for about an hour before it faded into a patch of itchy redness about two inches across for the next several hours. If you have an allergy to things like bee or wasp stings, you probably will want to bring your emergency epinephrine injector.
There are also lots of lovely butterflies. Sometimes they will land on tourists, which always gets the people around you excited. I made a butterfly friend myself at one point – it landed on my chest initially, then sat on my sleeve for a few minutes.
Other Activities
There are other things to do in Iguazú Falls National Park. One that’s a lot of fun is the Gran Aventura boat ride, launched from a spot a short ways downriver, that takes you to the bottom of the falls. As in, it takes you so close to the falls you will get drenched. There is a point where you can take pictures of the falls from below, and then they tell you to take off your shoes and put your shoes, camera, and bag in the large, heavy-duty plastic bag they give you. This is a spectacular way to cool off after a long, hot day of hiking.
Another activity that is offered is a helicopter ride, though from what I understand it’s only available on the Brazilian side of the Falls. But this offers truly spectacular aerial views of the entire waterfall system, and it’s still on my bucket list of future trips.
Outside of Iguazú Falls National Park
There are a ton of other things to do outside of the National Park. In the nearby town of Puerto Iguazú, you can visit the place where three nations meet. Where the Iguazú River joins with the Paraná, you can see both Brazil immediately to the north and Paraguay immediately to the west.
There are a number of restaurants in both Argentina’s Puerto Iguazú and Brazil’s Foz do Iguaçu. You can have special dining experiences where you get to enjoy some of each country’s most famous dishes, and may also be treated to things like music or watching performers dance the tango. There are even casinos.
A day trip will take you to the nearby Wanda gem mines, where you can see lots of amethyst, jasper, and agate. On the same day trip, you can also visit the nearby San Ignacio ruins, which was once a Jesuit mission.
Conclusion
Anyone visiting Argentina for more than a week (because you’ll need that much time for Buenos Aires alone) should make an effort to take at least one side trip. Argentina has so much to offer it’s impossible to see and do everything worth doing there in just one trip. Every region of Argentina offers unique sights and experiences, but the rainforest features one of the new 7 wonders of the natural world (not to be confused with the original 7 natural wonders – Google it). If the world’s most beautiful waterfall is on your bucket list, you need to visit Iguazú Falls.