Iguassu Falls on both the Argentinean and Brazilian Side

Iguassu Falls is (one of) the biggest waterfalls in the World and connects Argentina with Paraguay and Brazil. It attracts over a million visitors every year and is one considered as one of the ”New Seven Wonders of the World”. It consists of 170 individual waterfalls together making up the broadest waterfall in the World.

Our overland group had decided that instead of staying one night in Port Iguazu in Argentina and then pack our tents to move on to Foz de Iguazu in Brazil, we should go straight to Brazil and spend all three nights there instead. As we got there late in the evening there was not much to do other than staying in at our hoste, Hotel Paudimar, do some cooking and afterwards having some drinks at the bar to use the rest of our Argentinean Pesos and celebrate that two days of straight driving was over. Since we only had two full days at the national park, we had decided that it would not be other than fair to spend one day on the Brazilian side and the other taking a shuttle over to the Argentinean side to fully explore the waterfall and make up our own minds about which side was the prettiest. Some short facts about each of the sides:

The Brazilian side:

-       The city on the Brazilian side is called ”Foz de Iguazu” or just ”Foz”

-       Entrance fee to the national park costs 23 us dollars which includes a shuttlebus going from the park entrance up to the ”Devils Throat”, which is the biggest waterfall and the highlight for many when visiting the falls

-       Our highlights on the Brazilian side was to first see the whole waterfall from a distance to see how huge it really was and afterwards walking to walk towards it until we were standing right at the very bottom of the Devils Troat.

-       The absolute minimum time to explore the falls from this side is three hours, where the rest of the day can be spent going to Ciudad del Este in Paraguay or to the Itaipu dam which is the second biggest dam in the World.

-       Best tip: instead of taking the panoramic elevator up beside the Devils Throat, take the walk instead and be alone for a while. The national park on both side is really crowded so I am sure you will appreciate it!

The Argentinean side:

-       The city on the Argentinean side is called ”Puerto Iguasu”

-       Entrance costs 17 usd and includes unlimited rides with the train between the viewpoints

-       Highlights being walking through jungle and along the roaring falls where we saw ”coies”, fresh water aligators, tucans and gigantic catfish

-       The minimum time to explore the park from this side I would say is a full day

-       Best tip: walk the 2 hour blue path beside and down to the falls and try a boat ride at the bottom (20usd). It takes you under and through the falls, which gives you both a cheap adrenaline rush and beautiful view from the bottom.

It is absolutely worth going to both falls and spending a whole day in each, but if you had a gun pointed to your head or a really tight budget I would say that you should choose the Argentinean side over the Brazilian, as it is cheaper and also much cheaper. The national park was really touristy, somewhere between Victoria Falls and Niagara Falls but that is also for a reason. Iguassu Falls is absolutely awesome and a must see when traveling in South America.