Puerto Iguazú Things to Do

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To get to the Iguazu Falls we just had to wait outside our hotel (Orquideas) along ‘Ruta Nacional 12’ till one of the yellow coloured buses of ‘El Practico’ showed up. For a couple of pesos we were transported to the falls 15 km's away. Just before the entrance of the ‘Parque Nacional Iguazu’ we got a glimpse of the falls seeing clouds of mist just above the green rainforest.

After buying our tickets we entered the National Park; first thing we saw was the so called ‘services area’ with a Visitors Centre, restaurants/café’s, some shops, and a lot of local people, so called 'Guarani's, selling their handmade crafts. On the way back we bought a wood carved coati, which we had seen in the park.

There is helpful staff to show you your way. At the end of the services area is the train station and you will have to decide either to walk (through the Green Trail) or to go by train to the falls.

General information:
Opening hours: 8 am to 6 pm (April 1st to August 31st) and from 8 am to 7 pm (the rest of the year).
Admission (for foreigners): 30 pesos, children between 6 and 12 - 15 pesos, younger free.
(See also my tip about a ‘second visit’).

Public bus transport from Puerto Iguazù: 7.10 am till 7.40 pm
Public bus transport from Nat. Park: from 7.45 am till 8.15 pm
One way ticket: about 4 pesos (2008/2009)

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The park was created in 1934 and it contains one of the greatest natural beauties of Argentina, the Iguazu Falls, surrounded by the subtropical jungle. Across the Iguazu River lies its Brazilian counterpart (Iguaçu National Park). Both sites were declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO, in 1984 and 1986.

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Obviously this is the reason why you're here. This can and should be an all-day activity since the whole area of the falls is about a mile wide and there are different vantage points from which to see the falls, as well as a few activities inside the park.

Admission costs about $12p/p and if you're thinking about coming back the next day make sure they stamp your ticket on the way out since it can be used to get a 50% discount on the next day's admission.

There is a small scale train that can take you all the way to the end of the falls to see the Devil's Throat section with a couple of stops on the way, which is included in the admission price.

For all other excursions you have to pay extra to the only operator allowed within the park, Iguazu Jungle Explorer. They offer a ride on a flat bed truck through the jungle, an up-river raft ride and a boat ride up to the bottom of the falls. The jungle ride on a truck is a waste of time and money as far as I'm concerned- your chances of seeing wildlife is minimal and all you see is trees. But if you've never seen a rain forest I guess it's worth it. To me personally the boat ride, at Port Macuco, is definitely worth it. After getting on your life preserver and stowing away your things in a waterproof satchel you get on the zodiac-style boat and take off up the river. The boat does slalom- like maneuvers to get over and through the rapids, stands still for pictures, and then shoots through one of the falls just enough so that everyone gets wet! A real life theme-park type of ride!

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On the northwest side of Puerto Iguaza, at the end of Avenida tres Fronteras, overlooking the river, there is a viewpoint from where you can see three countries at once: Argentina (where you are standing of course), Brazil and Paraguay. Two mighty rivers, the Rio Parana & Rio Iguazu, separate Argentina from it's neighbours and from the Three Frontiers Post you have an excellent view along both rivers.

The post is marked by a monument with paintings of the flags from each country - Argentina being the most prominent of course. There is also a cafe and a couple of souvenir stands close by. It's about 10 minutes walk from the centre of town to this spot.

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Wanda is 47 kilometers from Puerto Iguazu and I visited the area on my way to San Ignacio (it was part of the tour). We spent almost an hour at the open-cast mines looking at the workers that try to find stones and the (english speaking)guide explained some things about the procedure, the materials, the semiprecious stones etc He also tried to tell us about the “good” energy that some stones have but it was funny enough for most of us just to smile when we touched the “magic” stone! :)

The entrance fee was 6 pesos and at the end (of course) there is a shopping center where you can buy handcrafts and other objects for decoration, jewels for your girlfriend etc All made by the semiprecious stones like amethyst, rock crystal etc The prices were much cheaper than in the city and the variety was good enough to spend some pesos for some people I love back home. Here, they also speak English so don’t worry… :)

Some prices:
15pesos(3e) for a small tree, 45pesos(9e) for cheap earrings, 200pesos(40e) for expensive earrings

You can go there as part of your tour to San Ignacio, The bus tour costs 100pesos (20e) and it was much more comfortable because we were only 5 people so we didn’t loose much time (and the ride was only 30’).

You can also go by taxi or by local bus(10 pesos one way, 60’ ride) but in that case you have to care about the timetables etc
What’s more the local bus drops you off 1,5km away from the Wanda Mines so you have to walk a little bit and its not so nice under the sun although its nice to admire the red sand everywhere around. I liked it more inside the minibus because there was a local guide that told us some things about the area, the red colors of the earth (tierra colorada) etc Unfortunately, it was only in Spanish…

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The argentinian side of the Falls is my favorite one! Some people try to do everything in a day (both sides) but you need a full day here if you want to walk in many paths of the park. There are 3 basic paths, the interior the superior and the path that leads to Garganta del Diablo.

I've done early in the morning the interior path and I was alone! The tour buses come after 10:00am when the superior path gets crowdy (it's smaller and easier to walk, no stairs).

I left for the end the Garganta del Diablo, an amazing huge amount of water. Dont go there before noon because the sun wont allow you take good pictures in the morning.

There are other smaller paths that can take you back the whole day, after so many kilometres from Buenos Aires I think its worth to get tired a little bit. You dont see so much beauty every day...

The entrance fee is 40pesos(8euros) and includes the eco train to the paths and the small boat ride to San Martin island. If you want to return the day after you pay only 20pesos for the second ticket.

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The brazilian side of the Falls is easy to be done in half a day. It took me less than 2 hours to walk the basic path which is just 1,5 km.

You can walk up to the end of the path, admiring the view on the way and taking panoramic photos of the Falls. At the end of the path there is an elevator, from there you can go up and has a nice last panoramic view of the Falls.

In general, the brazilian side offers better opportunities for panoramic photos although I still prefer the argentinian side where you have the real thing in front of you because you walk more time next or into the falls.

Don’t forget at the end of the path to visit the café (or the restaurant) to relax for a while before returning back to your hotel because the view is nice from up there.

The entrance fee is 38 pesos(8euros) and you can also pay in brazilian currency of course. There is a free bus waiting for you that will take you up to the park and leave you at the entrance of the path. You will catch the bus again at the end of the path after taking the elevator. Don’t worry, it’s really well organized.

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Just before entering the Park Iguazu at the Brazilian side you can spend an hour at the bird park that holds some beautiful colored birds like parrots, flamingos etc What’s more I saw many other things like butterflies, crocodiles (!), turtles etc

The entrance fee is 30pesos (6euros) and it took me around 60 minutes walking around the park.