Where Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay meet — the world's most spectacular waterfall system
Puerto Iguazú is the gateway to Iguazu Falls — 275 individual waterfalls spread across 2.7km of the Iguazu River, making it the world's widest waterfall system and, by most accounts, the most impressive on Earth. Eleanor Roosevelt reportedly said 'Poor Niagara' on seeing them for the first time. The Argentine side (Iguazú National Park) gives the best immersive experience — wooden catwalks take you through the mist to the edge of Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat), where 1,800 cubic metres of water per second drop 70m in a thundering horseshoe. The surrounding Atlantic Forest is one of the…
The Guaraní people called the falls 'Iguazú' (Big Water) and considered them sacred — their legend holds that the falls were created when a god, furious that a couple had fled downriver by canoe, split the earth to create the precipice. Spanish explorer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca became the first European to see the falls in 1541. The Argentine national park was established in 1934; together with Brazil's Iguaçu National Park (established 1939), both sides are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.