About Iguassu Falls

Long before the Spanish explorer Don Alvar Nuñes reached South America's greatest waterfall in 1541, the local indians had named it Iguassu - meaning great waters. There is no more fitting description, as thousands of visitors to Iguassú each year will testify. Once seen, the falls - all 275 of them - are never forgotten.

The two-mile wide curtain of water crashing 300ft over a series of precipices into a spray-filled gorge constitutes the most spectacular sight of southern Brazil and probably the whole of South America.

Even though this destination is sold as a day trip out of Rio, or even a one night stop, two or three days at least should ideally be spent in this fascinating area. This allows time to enjoy the falls from both the Brazilian and Argentinian sides, ride over them by helicopter and approach them on a jungle / river trek.

An extended stay, too, gives time to visit Foz do Iguassu, the Brazilian border town nearby that mushroomed in the late 1980s when Itaipu, the world's largest hydroelectric plant, was built (excursions operate to the dam); also to take in Puerto Iguazu in Argentina and Ciudad del Leste in Paraguay.

But back to the falls, a trail winds towards the falls from the area in front of the Tropical das Cataratas Hotel, populated by contis, long-tailed racoon-like creatures with a well-developed sense of tourists' feeding habits. At its end, an elevator provides speedier access to a viewing platform at the foot of the falls.

Focal point of the falls, best seen from above, is the Devil's Throat, a horseshoe-shaped gully in mid-stream over which seems to pour most of the Iguaçu River at the phenomenal rate of 13,000 cubic meters a second.

To experience the deafening roar and feel the spray at really close quarters, a trip to the Argentinian side - by organized excursion - is a must. One walks for 20 minutes along catwalks past alligators dozing in the shallows, to stand hypnotized by the thundering waters that fill the air with spay and render conversation near impossible.

Above, the helicopter swoops and turns, giving tourists a gallery view of nature's design work on a spectacular seven-minute ride back and forth across the falls' most stunning points. Longer flights take one to see Itaipu dam.

Facts about the Iguassu National Park - 225 thousand hectares of forest, is reputed to be one of the most beautiful ecological reserves in the world. The Iguassu Falls have existed for about 100 million years and are impressive due to its size, which varies from 40 to 80 meters high, an output of 1,750 m3/s. Walking along the paths, the tourist finds native trees such as the Figueira Brava, the Cinnamon tree and Pau-Marfim.