UNESCO World Heritage Site: Iguazu Falls

In the native Guarani language Iguazu means “great water” but who knows whether the definition of great refers to the enormity of their height (the highest one towering some 82 meters high) or the vastness of their width (stretching 2.7 kilometres long) or their abundance (the number of falls said to reach up to 300 in the rainy season) or the volume of water (gushing out the largest average annual flow in the world, supplying energy to Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay), or just the immense grandeur and imposing beauty of the falls and their jungle surroundings. Whichever definition of “great” the Guaranis may have been referring to they all seem to be understatements when you come face-to-face with Iguazu.

Situated in two national parks, one in Brazil’s Parana State and the other in the Argentine State of Misiones, the falls are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. You can easily cross the border to take in both sides of the falls: the Brazilian side better for boat trips up to the falls themselves or just standing and staring, and the Argentine side better for hiking along the established trails to get different views of them.

For more information visit: nature.new7wonders.com/archives/wonder/iguaza-falls.

For more information on tours to Brazil including the falls visit: www.intolatinamerica.com/en/program/71/rio-pantanal-and-iguacu-tour.