We flew from São Paulo to Foz to see the Iguazu Falls from the Brazilian side before heading across to Argentina. We had read it was worth seeing the waterfalls from both sides, if time and budget allowed.

In hindsight, we probably spent too much time in Foz (Brazilian side) when a few hours would have sufficed. With too much time to spare (almost a full day and night), we found ourselves going a little mad. There really is very little to do in this town and it makes quite a strange impression. Aside from the national park, it is almost exclusively made up of cheap women’s clothes and shoe shops, a celebrity wax museum and water park. We wandered out of the downtown area and through the suburbs to see the Paraguayan border, and around these parts there is certainly more of a heartbeat.

The waterfalls themselves are spectacular and worth seeing from the Brazilian side if possible. The view is more panoramic than that on the Argentinean side and you see more of the waterfalls at once.

We got a taxi the following morning to Puerto Iguazú, stopping at the border to have our passports checked and stamped. This trip took less than 30 minutes.

Puerto Iguazú is much livelier than Foz and a much nicer place to spend a few hours (though still not much to do). Once we had checked into our hostel, we got the bus to the national park to see the waterfalls.

With 80% of the waterfalls falling on the Argentinean side, you get a much closer look overall and a spectacular aerial view of the most famous waterfall, Garganta del Diablo (the Devil’s Throat).

With an evening on our hands we decided to visit the park again after dark, to see the waterfalls under moonlight. It’s not a guaranteed option as it’s entirely weather dependent, but fortunately we had a clear night. It made for a pretty magical trip.

Next stop is Buenos Aires. Ar aghaidh linn 🙂