The Battle of Iguazú - Argentina vs Brazil

By using the Argentinian spelling of Iguazú (as opposed to the Brazilian ‘Iguaçu’), the very title of this post offers evidence of my bias in this particular face-off. After four months spent in the beautiful and varied territory of Argentina - and having an Argentinian girlfriend - I undoubtedly have a strong affection for it.

As I write this I have been in Brazil for a total of three days - one of which was spent on yet another long-distance bus - so the country has so far had little opportunity to capture my heart and imagination in the same way. Nevertheless, despite all that, when comparing the two sides of the magnificent waterfalls I will do my best to leave any bias behind.

Arriving from Buenos Aires - after a seventeen hour journey - the first thing that strikes you is the intense humidity. Puerto Iguazú lies in the north of Argentina and is located at the point where Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina all converge. The other important feature of the area is that it lies in the jungle, hence the humidity.

The town itself we barely explored in our brief time there, although we had been warned there was little to see beyond the main attraction that is the waterfalls; if you’re only going to have one significant attraction, they are not a bad choice in fairness.

After a twenty minute car ride from the city centre we found ourselves at the entrance to the national park. There are multiple ways of navigating the park including boat tours and a train, although it was also comfortable enough for us to walk all four of the different marked routes available.

Here the paths have been wonderfully designed so as to not negate from the natural feeling of being in the jungle. Varying in construction from metal, concrete or just dirt paths they in no way distracted from the sensations one felt when traversing them.

Various falls can be viewed from various perspectives and any one alone would be worth travelling for; that being said, once you have seen the highlight, La Garganta del Diablo (The Devil's Throat), the other admittedly seem somewhat less impressive. That is not to detract from their magnificence but simply recognition of the breath-taking power of the main waterfall.

There are few, if any, sensations better than when you have the opportunity to feel and appreciate the phenomenal power of nature and these falls are perhaps the place I have been able to feel that most. The sheer volume of water constantly crashing down into a void created by its own mist, only to serenely flow downstream barely fifty metres later is awe-inspiring.

If words can not do justice to the visual beauty of the falls, then they do not stand a chance at describing the audible experience. From a significant distance one can hear a rumble in the distance that slowly and constantly gets louder until the deafening rumble surrounds you intimidatingly.

The Brazilian side can be visited as a day-trip from Argentina if necessary, but since we were heading into Brazil anyway the next day we crossed the border, had our passports stamped - a surprisingly quick and easy process with no need for COVID tests - and after dumping our bags at the hostel, headed to see the falls from a new perspective.

The first impression, and one that was reinforced as we continued our visit, was that the Brazilian side was far more commercialised and unnatural. For one, the visitor centre where one buys tickets is 11km away from the start of the trail and visitors must take a bus to get there.

For this reason tickets are sold with time-slots due to limited buses. For us the next available bus was not for a couple of hours which actually turned out to be a blessing in a sense as it gave us the opportunity to visit the Parque das Aves (Bird Park).

I generally find birds to be especially uninteresting but the site was impressively well designed. Spacious and natural, the area was home to not just birds but also a small selection of other animals including crocodiles and turtles. The highlight for me though, had to be the toucan, an animal seemingly picked out of a Pixar movie with its absurdly bright colours and unusually large beak.

Back to the falls and after the bus ride one is immediately greeted with a spectacular view over multiple falls, with the greens and blues of the landscape beautifully contrasting. At this point there is also a stall selling beers and snacks which somewhat negates the authenticity of the experience - not to say we did not buy one, nor did we not enjoy it… (shout-out to Jordan who joined us for both of these visits and also bought the beers!).

A kilometre or so trail made of concrete and paving slabs runs parallel to the water in the direction of La Garganta del Diablo. The views are consistently mesmerising - especially on a sunny day as we had - but, to repeat the word again, the experience lacks any sense of authenticity.

Everything felt so artificial and forced. At one viewing point - big enough for plenty of people - a long queue had formed as visitors took it in turns to get their Instagram posts; most of whom I doubt really looked at the view itself properly.

The trail ends with a bridge that takes visitors out across the water and fantastically close to the magnificent main attraction. Personally, I think it is fair to say that the views are better from the Brazilian side, both in terms of the end viewpoint and consistently throughout the trail. The angles and perspectives available are remarkable from both sides but the Brazilian side just has a little bit more.

That being said, where the Brazilian side falls down is in the feelings it can create. Whereas on the Argentinian side one feels like they are strolling through the jungle and close to nature, in Brazil one can never lose the feeling that the whole experience has been overly commercialised; for a place of such natural power and beauty it's a shame that man has tried to contain it into a typical tourist trap.

However, that would be a terrible note to end on. The falls are truly magnificent and one of the most breath-taking places I have visited. Both sides have their advantages, Brazil has the better views whilst Argentina combines views that are still incredible with a more naturally authentic experience, as well as multiple paths and perspectives. Both sides are a must-see and evidence of the incredible beauty that can be found across the world.

Posted: 31/03/2022

Written by: Tom Taylor (@tomtayloor)