Alice Down the Devil’s Throat: The Journey Continues to Iguassu Falls
Alice Teramoto
Goway Destination Expert
After the excitement of Peru took us through centuries of Inca history, our next adventure took us to Argentina. We flew into Iguassu Falls on the Brazil side (more easily reached form Lima). It was surprisingly very easy to cross the border into Argentina, so we entered and exited Brazil, and entered Argentina all in one night, filling a passport page all in one go.
Our morning tour took us around the Argentinian side of the falls and up to the Devils Throat. I had no idea how expansive the park was. We took a small train to the walkway, then a short walk to the Devils Throat, lasting about 10 minutes. Iguassu Falls are the largest waterfall system in the world!
From there we walked the Lower and the Upper circuits which give great views showing just how big this place is. It makes Niagara Falls look like a baby. There are 275 waterfalls in total, and the walk on the Lower circuit, which takes you in close to some of the smaller falls, was my favourite. Still, seeing everything from a further distance, you appreciate just how grand it all is. Everything was also so lush and green and it looked like we were on an exotic unknown island. There was a photo opportunity everywhere we looked. By the time we took all this all in it was already 5 hours later and we had a nice buffet lunch inside the park, trying some Argentinian BBQ.
The next day allowed us to sleep in a bit, as the Brazilian side of the falls needs less time. There is a walkway that runs for about an hour and culminates in a last stop right in front of the falls. From here you get the best view of the Devils Throat, far better than on the Argentinian side. There are crowds everywhere but if you wait your turn you can get your photo opportunity. There is also an elevator to take you to a higher level where you are looking over the falls as well.
My expert view is that the Argentinian Lower circuit was the best for seeing everything up close, but the Brazilian side for the Devils Throat was fantastic as you can really appreciated how different each side is.
From there, the airport was 5 minutes away. We caught our flight back to Lima and from there back to Toronto in time for the new school year. ‘Yippee!’ said the kids… not!
My husband and I agreed that it was one of the best family vacations we had ever had because of the new experiences. My kids may feel they barely ‘survived’ the hiking and the early mornings but I hope and believe they learned something new about other countries and cultures and will one day appreciate the experience that they had.
