Inhaling Iguazu Falls

Monday, January 12, 2026

Yesterday we flew up the length of Argentina to its border with Brazil for a pitstop at the world's largest waterfall system.

Taller than Niagara Falls and wider than Victoria Falls, Iguazu Falls is made up of up to 275 individual waterfalls lining a 1.7 mile-wide horseshoe-shaped gorge.

Walking 10 minutes from the entrance along the trail to the Central Station, it feels just like Disneyland's Jungle Cruise. Except the sounds are real. "A non-animatronic hippo is going to pop out at any moment," Chris said.

"Mom's in Disneyland mode," Jeremy observed. He is right - it felt a bit like Disneyland. We had a packed itinerary that didn't allow for hiccups. And we had a hiccup. The first train of the day to Devil's Throat, the star of the show, was canceled. In Disney fashion, they told us they were working on it and didn't know when it would open. "You should not stay here," they advised. Instead, we swiftly moved to the next thing on our list: the Superior walking trail.

The 1.7 km oneway Superior Circuit follows the upper rim of the waterfall. It's a flat and easy walk along a metal catwalk with the powerful river rushing beneath your feet and visible between the grates. About halfway through the 40-minute trail, I could hear whistles in the distance: the train was up and running!

The Iguazu Falls were created by an enormous volcanic eruption more than 130 million years ago. Off in the distance we could see the mist plume over the Devil's Throat where the majority of the water flows.

We saw a cute group of monkeys near the end of the trail

Back at the Central Station we had to swap out our old tickets for new ones. The next several trains were already full so we had another 1 1/2 hours to kill before the next available one.

The other trail to walk along is the Inferior Circuit. Immediately I liked it better - we were some of the first ones on it for the day. Plus I could relax now that we had our Diablo tickets. This 2.5 km catwalk runs along the bottom end of the falls. We spent 45 minutes enjoying its views.

Waiting back at the Central Station, we were entertained by the coatis - the food bandit gang that rules the area. They are stealth and aggressive, like a Rio pickpocket. We watched one run into the store, grab a bag of chips, and run out - all in a matter of seconds. Another thief smoothly stuck its long nose into a backpack and ran off with a bag of snacks. His accomplice stole a sandwich. They aren't afraid and you can't let your guard down.

Look at the coatis long, sharp claws and dagger teeth!

Finally it was our turn to go to the Devil's Throat - the Garganta del Diablo Trail! The 492 feet wide, 269 feet tall Garganta is the main attraction. Overlooking 14 waterfalls, the viewing platform is right on the edge of the thundering water. We spent 45 minutes on the trail, taking in the awe-inspiring wonder.

Walking out to the Devil’s Throat

You are so close you can feel the magnitude of the incredible force. Jeremy and I mutually decided we could sit here forever, mesmerized by the flow, and not get bored.

After 4 1/2 hours, we were done with the Argentina side of the falls - and heading over to see Brazil's side. The hassle of seeing both sides of the falls is crossing the border. Since Rio de Janeiro was our ultimate destination, crossing by land border into Brazil was our best option. (Read the "crossing the border" section below for more details.)

The Brazilian side - Cataratas do Iguaçu - has the best view of the falls but the area is much smaller. It only has one trail 1.5 km long. Between the long ~20 minute bus ride out to the circuit (and back), waiting in line for pictures, and getting ice cream, we took 2 1/2 hours to finish.

The Brazilian side of Iguaçu Falls allows you to take in the full scope of the falls

Normally you might get drenched on the Devil’s Throat platform but we were only misted

Rather than be done for the day, our driver convinced us to get the adrenaline rush of the Macuco boat ride up to the falls. It was part of our original itinerary so I was actually sad when I thought we didn't have time for it. On the Brazil side, you don't need reservations for the boat ride. You take a jeep ride through the jungle to the boat center and then take a funicular to the dock.

Waiting in line at the dock for what felt like eternity, Greg asked, "Why are we doing this again?" "Because it's fun," Jeremy reminded him.

The boat ride was great! It was so much fun to speed along the river up to the falls. Once we reached the falls, the fun really began! The entire boat drives under the falls and sits there, letting the full weight of the water pound you. I heard Lucas yell "oh my God" right before we took the plunge. You are instantly completely soaked. And just to make sure no one is escaping with a dry thread, the boat turns around and enters the falls again. And again. It felt like the water was shooting in one ear and out the other. I was screaming (laughing) with my mouth wide open - being waterboarded by the falls.

The boat going into the falls

The boat ride was an adrenaline rush for sure. "That was so awesome I'm so glad we did that," Lucas exclaimed, getting off the boat.

We didn't get back to the park entrance until 8pm. The park closes at 6pm so the last shuttle bus was well past gone. We had to wait for the boat company to pick up us. Our driver was patiently waiting. "You can tell your friends you closed the park and came out with the workers," he joked.

I liked Brazil immediately. It was the first time in a week that someone spoke to us not just in a few broken words of English but solid sentences of English. Everyone seemed helpful. The waiter greeted us with a warm handshake. I'm looking forward to spending the next week here.

Which side of the falls is better?

I suggest ideally do both sides of the falls so you don't have to decide which is better. They are both phenomenal!

If I were forced to give my preference, I would say that being right up next to the rush of the water of Argentina's Devil's Throat was my favorite moment.

Most of the waterfalls (80%) are on the Argentina side, with a series of catwalks that allow you to experience the Falls up close, while Brazil claims the best views.

It is advised to spend a full day on the Argentinian side but you definitely don't need that long for the Brazil side.

Transportation

Both sides have a public bus. Argentina has taxis. Brazil has uber available. I received two quotes for $190-200 per taxi (we needed 2 so $400 total) to pick us up at the Argentina airport and take us to our Argentina hotel, then take us to the falls, then drive us over the border to our Brazil hotel. When I removed the airport-to-hotel portion, I found a way better deal with IguazuFalls Travel for almost half the price in a private shuttle for $215 and they would hold our luggage. (Our Argentina airport taxis cost ~$50 total for 2 cars) At the last minute when our flight was drastically changed, forcing us to squish both sides of the falls into the same day, our cost went up $70. For $287, IguazuFalls Travel drove us from our Argentina hotel to Iguazu Falls, then took us over the border to Iguaçu Falls, and finally drove us to our Brazil hotel.

Our Ubers from our Brazil hotel to the Brazil airport cost $22 for two cars ($11 per uber).

Crossing the Border from Argentina into Brazil

You can drive yourself, take the public bus, or hire a taxi to get over the border. Taxis have their own express lane so I figured that would be our most convenient option.

IguazuFalls Travel shaved off even more time for us. They dropped us off with our luggage to go through Argentina immigration. Then another driver, Nestor, got us on the other side. He drove us over the border to Brazil's customs office, which took about 15 minutes. Nestor explained, "I know it is strange process but we just saved 1 1/2 hours over driving in a taxi.”  He said regular cars take 3 hours.

Note: As American citizens we needed an $80 visa to enter Brazil

Crossing Tancredo Neves Bridge over the Iguazu River, the countries are distinguished by blue and white stripes (Argentina) vs green and yellow stripes (Brazil)

Other Misc. Logistics:

• Brazil "Summer" is the wet season; best time to visit is late March to May.
• In Brazil, the closest city to Iguazu Falls is Foz do Iguacu and in Argentina it's Puerto Iguazu.
• It's free to ride the train once you buy your Argentina entrance. The tickets are first come first serve. You can get them at a booth either at the entrance or the central station.
• I read to allow 2-3 hours for the upper and lower circuit. Although we finished both circuits in 1 hour 15 minutes, it would have been nice to spend a little more time on them.
• The train ride to the Garganta del Diablo Trail takes 20 minutes. Running parallel to it is a long trail that allows you to walk there; it is a long walk.
• We didn't get wet at all on the trails on the Argentina side
• The ticket to the Brazil side has a time-specific entrance because you need to get directly onto a bus. We didn't know what time we would get there so bought our tickets from the machines at the entrance.
• Until our flight was changed, our plan was to go on Argentina's Gran Aventura speedboat. Make sure you buy your timed ticket in advance on the official website for $55. There is a more prevalent website, a reseller, charging $100.
• They say to allow 2 hours for the Macuco boat ride but ours took closer to 3. It's deceptive that the line for the boats is out of view when you buy the tickets. We wouldn't have done it if we knew we would be standing waiting for 2 1/2 hours.
• The boat tour included an ecological guided walk through the jungle for 15 minutes. It was optional. We did it just in case it was interesting. It was ok but it made our wait longer since so many other people skipped it and beat us to the line.
• At R$384 ($72 USD), the Brazil boat is more expensive than the Argentina boat.