Day 70 - The most magical place we ever did see
Have you ever visited a place and thought to yourself how can this be real? It's a 5D experience yet your brain fails to register the magnanimity of it? Such was our visit of the Iguazu waterfalls. I can only describe it as a dreamscape, no picture or photograph will ever do justice to what you will experience in person when you visit this spectacle. The power and force of nature is on full display, it captivates your attention, and for a moment you forget about everything else that exists in this world.
If there is one place I would describe as heaven on earth, it would be here. The cascading falls against a backdrop of greenery, the sound of gushing water, the mist clouds which spray on you and cools your skin as you get closer and the sun's reflection causing rainbows in every which way you look. The hundreds of butterflies, and the birds flying in and out of the waterfalls adding a dreamlike quality to the scene. How else would you describe it but as surreal?
We spent a total of three days exploring the Iguazu national park (yep, it is massive), two days at the Argentinian side which have 85% of the falls and one day on the Brazilian side - both, equally stunning. The Argentinian falls offer you an up and close view whilst the Brazilian side offers you a panoramic view. The Iguazu National Park on the Argentine side has 6 different circuits to complete. We covered 5 of these on the first day and came back a second day to cover the one remaining circuit. When you visit two consecutive days in a row, you get a 50% discount on the entrance fee on the second day. On the third day we visited the Brazilian side.
DAY 1 - SUPERIOR, LOWER & DEVIL'S THROAT CIRCUITS
We covered the superior circuit, the lower circuit, and the devil's throat circuit on day 1, which can take upto 2 hours to complete individually depending on how fast you walk. Another interesting circuit we completed on this day was the green trail which was a short pleasant nature walk. We also had the chance to take the train from the gargantan station to the devil's throat which is arguably the most famous spot on the falls.
DAY 2 - MACACU TRAIL & DEVIL'S THROAT
Because one day wasn't enough, we came back a second day to see the falls again and also complete the one remaining circuit, which was a jungle walk. We had initially planned to go on a boat tour of the falls where you can get up and close to them however I remember the ticket being too expensive so we decided to skip the boat ride and instead visited the devil's throat, a second time in a row, such was the magic of that place, we couldn't stay away.
DAY 3 - BRAZIL & PARQUE DAS AVES
On the third day we hopped onto a bus from Puerto Iguazu in Argentina to reach Brazil. It took us under an hour to get there. Once at the national park, we bought tickets for the falls and took their shuttle service to the trail head. The Brazilian side has only one circuit and it can take up to 2 hours to complete, where you get treated to a panorama of the falls through out the walk (pictured below). A short walk from the waterfalls park is an avian sanctuary/conservation centre where we saw birds including toucans, macaws, pygmy owls, a harpy eagle and many more. 50% of the birds in this centre have unfortunately been victims of traffic or mistreatment and the park works on rehabilitating and sheltering these birds.
