Iguazu waterfalls in Brazil
First published in 2020
Queuing - that was the main activity of the day. Not because of bad organization, just because of the huge amount of people. Unfortunately, you can hardly avoid them. The park opens only at 9 am and that's late enough for all the bus tourists to get of bed.
I took the public bus #120 from the city center of Foz de Iguazu and was at the entrance a quarter of an hour before the official opening, but that was too late by at least 30 minutes. There was a super long queue at the ticket counter, but if you are willing to use a ticket machine (on the left-hand side of the area) the queue is much shorter. It took me about 10 minutes to get the ticket.
To get from the entrance to the falls, you have to take a bus. The cost is included in your ticket, but of course, you have to ... queue up. There is a constant flow of new buses arriving, but embarking takes time and so the line is moving steadily but slowly.
When you arrive at the final stop to walk to the falls, it's getting better, but still, the walkways are usually packed.
Iguazu is one of the main tourist attractions in Brazil - for locals as well as for tourists from abroad. The falls seem to be two or three times more crowded than the Great Wall in China and 5 to 10 times worse than Grand Canyon in the US.
The problem is that there is one way and everybody has to take it. Maybe the best comparison is Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia at 11 am on a summer weekend.
Nevertheless, the waterfalls are a must-see on your bucket list. Already from the first viewing point, you can see how huge it is. We are not talking about a single waterfall, but dozens spread around a huge area. Some of the bigger ones would be a tourist attraction on its own if located somewhere else.
As you follow the trail you get nearer to the brim, but the view is changing not a lot - until you approach the final part. There is a wooden walkway built right across the waterfall. Here you get close and here you can feel how much water is falling down.
This is also the part where you will get wet due to the spray. I read a lot that you should bring a poncho and clothes to change. I had something with me but didn't use it. But there had been quite some people wearing these thin plastic ponchos.
As it was quite warm, I was wet anyhow and the spray was more a benefit than an issue. The only thing I took care of was the camera. I tried to take pictures only when the wind blew the spray in a different direction and cleaned the lens afterward to get rid of all the water drops.
Finally, you take a lift to a viewing platform from where you have a nice overview again. There is a small bar as well. From here you continue to the meeting point of the buses, where more shops and restaurants are offering you something to eat or drink. For me, it was time to return, but first ... you have to queue up 🌝.
I visited the Brazilian part of the falls only. Very often you can read that you should visit both sides of the falls. But, as I was coming from Foz de Iguazu, it would have been more or less a full day trip to go to the Argentine side (mainly because of the time needed for immigration).
In Argentina, you have more options to walk across the jungle, but as the majority of the falls are on the Argentine side the view from Brazil is much better. You can even see the viewing platform on the Argentine side and from there you must have just the top-down view.
So if you want to spend the time to visit both, fine. But if you have to choose, I would go for the Brazilian side.
