My traveling companion and I arrived at Cataratas del Iguazu Airport, Argentina on a stormy afternoon. Shortly after leaving the airport, still tens of kilometers away from the world most beautiful waterfalls greatest natural wonder, our tour guide pointed out to us the mist thrown up by the falling water, which to us seemed like regular clouds.
In 2012, over one million tourists visited isolated Iguazu, over two hours by plane from Argentina's capital Buenos Aires. We were fortunate enough to stay at the Sheraton Hotel, one of only two hotels in the reserve Many visitors have to travel over 30km by car from the nearest town to reach the falls.
The tropical rain was fierce but thankfully brief. Upon reaching the hotel's lobby, we managed to see silvery streaks of water on the horizon that stood out from the deep green of the jungle. Tiny water droplets from the falls were tossed by the wind to form a giant column, stark white against the dropping purple veil of sunset. We were all held in awe of such a sights nearly forgetting to take our room keys. Everyone was beyond eager to visit the world beautiful waterfalls on the following day.
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| Iguazu greatest natural wonders of the world |
We set out early to avoid the hot sun and the crowds, and also to take a leisurely stroll through the national park boasting one of the highest levels of biodiversity in South America. Since 2000. level walkways with handrails and wheelchair access have been in place under the exuberant foliage around the falls. '[he journey was more than worth the effort; within a few minutes, we caught sight of vultures perching on an immense date palm. a benign coati (a raccoon relative) sidling along the handrail and, most excitingly, a couple of toucans, birds with colorful beaks virtually the size of their bodies, which were said to he extremely rare by our tour guide. Flocks of swifts that built their nests on precipitous cliffs behind the falls skimmed the water like black lightning bolts.
The complex of Iguazu world beautiful waterfalls comprises 275 falls of various sizes, which form an inverse J straddling the borders of Brazil and Argentina. The first falls that we saw stretched over a basalt wall like a curtain of water over one kilometer long. Everywhere we looked, we saw endless streams of roaring water, layer upon layer of falls throwing 12,000 cubic meters of water—the weight of 10 cars—every second, from a height of 60 meters, spraying mist 150 meters high and generating a dull thunder that could be heard miles away. Indian tribes in this area named the falls "Iguazu," or "the great water:' But even this seemed like an understatement. The walkway led us all the way to the foot of Bosetti Fall, on the edge of the grand water curtain. Naturally, we got as close as possible to take photos, despite the spray soaking us from head to toe. In another place, perhaps this fall alone would be a major tourist attraction; but in Iguazu, it is but one fall of many. No wonder US First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, upon witnessing Iguazu greatest natural wonder, for the first time, reportedly exclaimed: "Poor Niagara!"
We still hadn't seen the most impressive falls in Iguazu: La Garganta del Diablo, Spanish for "the Devil's Throat:' On the Argentinian side of the park, a little train took visitors from the park's entrance to the beginning of a one-kilometer walkway across the Iguazu River up to the peak of the Devil's Throat. On the way, we could glimpse catfish bigger than our calves, turtles, flashy tropical birds and countless butterflies of every color and size.
The Devil's Throat is 82 meters high, and in the shape of a horseshoe 150 meters wide and 700 meters deep. However, these numbers made no sense until we stood at the end of the walkway and saw with our own eyes the endless torrents of water that, true to the name, seemed to be falling into a bottomless sucking void. You have to be there to feel the soaking spray, to stand on the bank and look down while feeling vertigo, to hear the thunderous roar of the falling water shaking every bit of your body, to feel so small in the face of nature.
And
if you are lucky enough, like we were, to be at this world beautiful waterfalls on a sunny
day, you would see a rainbow crossing the fierce water curtain, and feel
that perhaps the name Devil's Throat is unfair for such a breathtaking
and majestic place. We tried to take a minute to engrave the scene in
our memories, because we knew even then that photos would fall
tragically short in describing what we could feel with every single
sense and in our hearts as well.
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| Rainbow for lucky visitors to the World Most Beautiful Waterfalls of Iguazu |
The next
morning, we climbed aboard a highspeed canoe to go right through some of
the falls, another highly recommended activity at Iguazu Falls. The
sensation of rushing into the raging water was fantastic, and we all
obtained a unique souvenir from Iguazu: a video record of us screaming
ecstatically while being drenched by the majestic falls.
Even more for falls lovers:
Rio Celeste is the prettiest waterfall on Earth
Iguazu World Beautiful Waterfall - greatest natural wonder of the world.
