Iguazu Falls: In awe of Mother Nature (with my mother!)

Iguazu falls on the Argentina-Brazil border is the only place on my grand South America tour that I have visited before. What a difference eleven years can make! The first time round was in summer 2005 when I was backpacking for a month with three uni friends. We stayed in a hostel dorm on the Brazilian side. Fast forward to 2016 and the waterfalls are just as stunning as ever but this is the luxury version…

My mum and I stayed for two nights at Belmond Hotel das Cataratas which a few people had recommended to me, including a friend who spent part of her honeymoon there. The location is ridiculous, set within the Brazialian Parque Nacional do Iguacu. The most panoramic views of the falls and main walking trail are less than a minute walk away and available to hotel guests anytime. We landed at 7.15pm at the Brazilian airport and because the transfer to the hotel was under half an hour, arrived just in time for sunset! The views were magical. There were hardly any tourists because visitors have to leave the national park by 5pm.

However you spell it, Iguazu falls must be one of the natural world’s most awe inspiring sights. Viewed by day, you see the beauty of the seemingly never ending falls (often under a rainbow) and hear the sheer power of the cascades up close.

In fact, it is a chain of hundreds of distinct cascades that together form the 2.7km long cataratas (waterfalls.) Thousands of cubic metres of water plunge down as much as 80 metres.

Over the next two days, we enjoyed the main Cataratas do Iguacu 1.5km paved trail on the Brazilian side in the mornings and evenings. On our first morning, we only saw one other tourist on our way down the trail at about 8am. By the time we were walking back, more hotel guests had surfaced. There is a catwalk and platform close to Gaganta del Diablo “Devil’s Throat” which allows you to feel the full spray of the falls.

We also took a day trip to the Argentinian side of the falls in Parque Nacional Iguazu. This takes about one hour in a private transfer including the border crossing. Each time they stamp your passport and as we had to cross once more when we flew out of the Argentinian airport , I now have a full page of Brazil and Argentina stamps over two days. The bridge crossing the river marks the boundary between Brazil and Argentina and the paved is painted accordingly!

We spent over 3 hours enjoying the Argentinian side that has more trails and more tourists. We took a train to the Devil’s Throat viewpoint from the Argentinan side and walked along a 1.1km walkway perched over the powerful torrent of water. Vapours blur the base of the falls and on this walkway you get a sense of how calm the river is before it plunges into the falls. We then walked the 1.75km Paseo Superior (upper circuit) trail that gives views over the tops of the falls. This time round, we opted not do the Paseo Inferior walk as we wanted to spend more time away from the crowds.

The walks on the Argentinian side also gave us better views of the forest up close.

In terms of wildlife, we saw plenty of butterflies, coatis (like raccoons with more pointy noises), monkeys and toucans.

Whilst we were not being wowed by the natural beauty of the waterfalls, we could relax close to them in our hotel. The decor had an understated Portuguese colonial style. Walking down the wide dark wooden corridors, you could easily be in a bygone era.

Furthermore, we could have delicious meals in this idyllic setting or spend a bit of time lounging by the pool. It did not surprise me that a quite a few families with young children were staying at this hotel… it is Mother Nature’s version of Disneyland after all.