Wanderlust UK – September 2019

26 wanderlust.co.uk September 2019

IguazúNationalParkishometoanastounding 275 waterfalls.Withnewflightslaunching,it’seven

easiertostaredowntheDevil’sThroatandthenexplorethesurroundingarea’strailsandwildlife

Making a splash

The awe-inspiring

UNESCO-listed

Iguazú Falls are one

of the seven natural

wonders of the world

Alamy; Shutterstock, Dreamstime

Y

ou hear Argentina’s
Iguazú Falls before
you clock eyes on
them. Clouded by
a thick mist, the
falling cascades shatter into plunge
pools, thundering an unmistakable
roar that leaves travellers silent.
They’ve always exerted a strong
pull, though, beckoning over
a million visitors last year to see its
narrow chasms and milky abysses,
unshy of performing an elemental
drama to a captive audience.
Divided between the Argentine
and Brazilian border – with more

of it on the former’s side – these

natural wonders have a long history.

The Spanish explorer Álvar Núñez

Cabeza de Vaca seemingly spotted

them first in 1541; Iguazú National

Park came into being nearly four

centuries later, in order to protect

the falls and surrounding jungle,

packed with around 2,000 species

of endemic flora. You can take

a 4x4 ride into this rainforest,

too, and glimpse howler monkeys

and giant anteaters.

A good place to start, though, is

the walking trails. Stroll down the

Lower Circuit, first; here, you’ll see

a sweeping view of all the falls,

including the Three Musketeers,

San Martín and Salto Bossetti. Go

west for the Upper Circuit route,

which overlooks the cascading falls

on elevated walkways. Butterflies

wheel around you as you make

your way through; you’ll also spot

specks of great dusky swifts nipping

through the water, and sharp-

toothed coatis and crocodiles

making the most of shaded spots.

Then prepare to be swallowed

up by Garganta Del Diablo (Devil’s

Throat): a horseshoe-shaped

canyon that offers a panoramic

view of the largest of all 275 falls.

You can get an eco-train from the

Upper Circuit here, or walk next to

the railway track as the belly of the

basin beneath slowly reveals itself.

Speedboats take you into the

heart of these 80-metre-high falls,

too – you’ll get soaked as you dash

through hairpin turns and gushing

cataracts. Legend has it that a

serpent-like sea god turned two

lovers who scorned him into a large

rock and a palm tree here, cleaving

the river in half to divide them on

different sides. Today, you might

just see them united by a rainbow.

Go

Now

and feel the spray!

THE DESTINATION:

IGUAZÚ, ARGENTINA