Foz do Iguacu

The Foz do Iguacu (Brazilian name) or Cataratas de Iguazu (Argentinian name) are in the Rio Iquazu which marks the border between Brazil and Argentina. You can reach the falls from both the Brazilian and Argentinian sides. Mum and I decided to stay on the Argentinian side on the advice of my good friend Dylan, who said it'd be possible to stay in a nicer place for the same money, eat better food and drink better wine than in Brazil. This appears to be true judging by our room, the food and the Argentinian Malbec that we've been drinking every night so far. Apologies to any Brazilian friends who don't agree!

We spent one day in the Parque Nacional Iguazu in Argentina and one day in the Parque Nacional do Iguacu in Brazil. The highlight is, of course, the waterfalls or cataratas, though the falls are in the middle of the Selva Paranaense or rainforest ('jungle') which is pretty impressive itself. The museum on the Argentinian side has some interesting information about the rainforest. One thing that struck me was that it originally covered 1,000,000km2 but now covers 60,000km2 (this is still the size of Norway according to Wikipedia).

There are trails that take you up close to the waterfalls. The Brazilian side of the falls has the best overall views but you can get closer to the falls from the Argentinian side. The falls really are staggering. According to my guidebook, the Niagara falls are a 'ripple' compared to Iguazu. Only the Victoria falls in South Africa are comparable in terms of size, but the Iguazu falls are different as the shape of them means that you can stand with the water coming down almost all around you.

My jaw literally almost dropped when I saw the Garganta del Diablo, or Devil's Throat from the Argentian side, where you can get really close to it. This is the most powerful individual waterfall and colossal amounts of water gush continuously at high speed over the edge of a semi-circle of rock. It made me wonder where it could all be coming from and how it can possibly keep going like that. I think you really have to be there (or watch a video!) to appreciate the immensity of the Garganta del Diablo. The water falling into the canyon below creates mist and you can also see rainbows when the sun refracts through the water. There's so much mist and the force of the water is so great that it must be impossible ever to see the canyon at the bottom of the waterfall.

There's a campaign to vote for the Iguacu Falls as one of the 7 'new' natural wonders of the world. The falls are provisionally included as one of the 7 wonders, subject to validation of the votes, alongside the Amazon, Halong Bay, Jeju Island, Komodo, Puerta Princesa Underground River and Table Mountain. I have to admit I haven't heard of all of these. I clearly haven't done enough travelling yet!