The thriving Puerto Iguazu is placed at the junction of the Ríos Paraná and Iguazú and looks crosswise over to Brazil and Paraguay.
It doesn’t generally feel like it’s still in Argentina anymore because of its location.
There’s no central part of the town dotted only with small communities but tourists flock to this town to see its famous waterfalls.
Still, it’s calm, safe, easily accessible, and has great transportation services; there are additionally numerous brilliant spots to stay, natural reserve areas, and exquisite places to enjoy great food.
Puerto Iguazu is a simple town in Argentina, but very cool.
For those who enjoy nature, simplicity, good food and great price this is a perfect place to spend a weekend.
The local residents are very attentive and are keen to provide service in most of the establishments you will have the chance to visit.
It is a place for all types of travelers; romantic, family, and friends and even alone.
Best time to Visit Puerto Iguazu
It basically has tropical atmosphere so in the event that you would prefer not to pass out from the high temperature, doubtlessly must not attempt to visit during the summer season that runs straight for six months (December-May).
The best time to visit the city is in October when it isn’t excessively hot and the climate is great.
The weather temperature begins to warm up in November and in December it gets greatly hot.
Pictures aren’t as great amid the fall and winter season as it isn’t as green and lavish.
Best things to do in puerto iguazu
A typical town that is famous for its towering falls, here are my favorite things to do in Puerto Iguazu:
Iguazu Falls / Garganta del Diablo (Devil’s Throat)
The Garganta del Diablo is part of the Iguazu National Park and also known as the Iguazu Falls.
It is the most impressive waterfall and it is best seen from the Argentine side.
To get there; take a train that transports you to a robust catwalk (footbridge).
This walkway is safely suspended over the river.
No danger at all as the bridge is welded on the bed of the river but you have to walk for about 500 meters over the river and take you to the Garganta.
The trail and the mass of water that pours down seem like as how locals call it “the breath of the devil”.
Very exciting!
They are the most beautiful and spectacular waterfalls in the world.
The Devil’s Throat is an intriguing name to emphasize a unique show in the world, where the wonder and amazement induce an unconscious fear of facing the force of nature.
Visit can be done from both sides of two countries (Brazil / Argentina).
It is highly recommended that you start with Brazil so you can understand their majesty and magnitude, and then experience the thrill of the boat in the Argentinean side with the tour in the forest where if you’re lucky you can also see some puma and caiman in addition to seeing exotic butterflies and tropical birds.
It’s fascinating and unique.
The vantage point is just above the waterfall and you can see all its power and beauty.
Coming from the catwalk looks like a boiling pot because the noise and the water vapor will stun.
Take lots of photo or video so you can have a well documented idea of the extraordinary spectacle.
To visit absolutely!
Travel tip: try to experience the thrill of the ascent of the river in an inflatable boat; it includes a “shower” under the waterfalls near the Garganta.
These waterfalls are truly one of the most amazing wonders of the planet.
Located on the border between Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina and it never fails to stir up an incredible emotion, with a front of nearly 2km that offer stunning views of Puerto Iguazu.
My favorite stuff to do in Iguazu
Parque Tematico Selva Viva
Located on the Argentine side of the Iguazu Falls, Parque Tematico Selva Viva is very well maintained, the trails are well marked and the proximity to the waterfalls is impressive.
There are options to get to the circuit by the little train or the trails.
You can opt for the train, but the trails are inviting and yields to more lengthy tours.
The view of the falls during the passage to the catwalks is simply gorgeous!
Get ready to take a bath during the visit to the Devil’s Throat, the view is amazing.
The park itself is not as organized as the Brazilian side, but the falls are such a marvelous sight!
This tour offers a walk in the upper area of the falls, offering a panoramic view of all the jumps around the Iguazu Falls and the river delta.
At the bottom, it has a walkway for going down the falls and this circuit offers a better experience with the landscape and contact with nature, in a circular ride that takes to the points of very interesting views.
All this in a space that is very well planned and distributed to restaurants, coffee shops, ice cream parlors, souvenir shop and information kiosks, with gentle and well trained staff to help travelers.
The park is indeed worth the visit.
It gets to be exciting to be over the falls!
Along the way, you’ll enjoy the bush smell, the sound of the water, the birds singing and see a big fish up close.
It is a must see!
Buy the ticket to make a boat trip to the Devil’s Throat, called “The Great Adventure” (similar to Macuco Safari, only considerably cheaper than the Brazilian side and far more radical – supports Riyal, Dollar or Pounds).
Tip: go with bathing suit under your clothes, you will receive upon entering the boat, a waterproof bag to put your belongings.
Protect everything, including your camera (if it is not waterproof), for surely you will get wet a lot.
The park is super cool to be explored on foot, so stay comfortable by wearing the right trekking shoes and do not forget to bring your hat, sunglasses, protective or sun block lotion and water because you will feel thirsty along the way.
The tour is just one of the few adventures you will really enjoy while you’re in Puerto Iguazu.
Coolest Iguazu tourist attractions
Guira Oga Park
The Guira Oga Park aims to rescue and care for wild animals that are in dire situation by action of man and after that (if possible), reinsert them in the wild.
As one of the ways to help raise money, the park conducts guided tours (in Spanish or English) with groups of 10 to 20 people at most.
The educational tour lasts more or less than 30 minutes, but the English version has only two visits on their daily schedules.
The tour is very cool and is not expensive (cost 85 pesos) and there are several animals to be seen, the guide explains very well and even if they speak Spanish you can still understand 90% of what they spoke.
The explanations are somewhat different when you reach the Guira Oga Birds Park, similar ride, but can also be done without a guide.
The initiative of the park (receive, care for and protect wild animals recovered dealers, hunters, etc.) is excellent.
It is the best cause, to promote animal conservation awareness and a good tour guided by a certified environmental technician.
It is comforting to know that the animals are kept in sheltered place right in the middle of the forest they are cared for and fed to acclimatize with the wildlife for a possible release.
Be sure to visit and get enlightened with the plight of the animals that need to be conserved here in Puerto Iguazu.
What else to do in Iguazu?
La Aripuca
La Aripuca is a small park created by the locals of Puerto Iguazu.
Everything here is made from various species of trees.
There are gigantic and very ancient trunks (to give you an idea, the portal has 500 and 1000 year old trees).
You walk in and see the importance and grandeur of what nature has to do.
The entry cost of 40 pesos gives right of access to the whole structure (composed of the famous La Aripuca, two very large stores, a restaurant and a health food store) and a short explanation , a guide (in English, Spanish or Portuguese), on the spot.
The tour can last 5 minutes, if you do not have much patience, or for those who like to admire the beauties of nature.
It is easily accessible from the Av Victoria Aguirre in Puerto Iguazú; you can take a bus which costs 5 pesos and make it near La Aripuca, the Guira Oga, Bio Centre and the Ice bar!
It is a great park to relax, meet friends, or learn so much about the environmental awareness work in the city.
In the park there are ice cream shops and craft beers in addition to trading of local crafts.
Jardin de los Picaflores
It’s amazing to see and get up close to the hummingbirds at the Jardin de los Picaflores .
A visit is definitely recommended to this garden which is not very big, but really worth it.
For 30 years, the lady of the house decided to plant flowers and put drinkers with nectar to attract hummingbirds.
Currently, this small garden is visited daily by a lot of hummingbirds (as of this time they total in about 30 hummingbirds) of various species.
They do not live there, they just visit for food.
There are hummingbirds coming from all around the world.
The garden is an amazing experience for those who love birds.
It is a small park that has the most stunning selection of hummingbirds, attracted by drinkers with sweet water.
Taking pictures is allowed and spend time to marvel at these colorful creatures and know the story of the old lady behind this attraction.
My Favorite Iguazú attractions
Comunidad Guarani Yriapu – Comunidad Indigena Iriapu
The Comunidad Guarani Yriapu offers a visit to an Indian Village on this part of Argentina.
If you want to experience an off the beaten path adventure, take some time and see the 80 families living in this tribe which also use tourism to its economy.
They have guides (Indians) that will accompany you to the middle of the jungle and demonstrate how to use the hunting gear (already prepared in places).
There is also a house showing how they lived.
There are schools and homes provided by the Argentine government.
The Indians make crafts for sale on this site.
The half day tour yields interesting and productive visit.
Safaris de la Selva
The tour in the park of the Argentinean side of the falls is also lovely with a good price for sightseeing options.
The Safari de la Selva is one of the great adventures you can try in Puerto Iguazu.
The tour they offer is a safari through the jungle and then the boat ride that brings you closer to the falls, The safari is a journey in a truck with seats, with a guide who explains about the flora and fauna.
The last part of the tour involves a stroll at the bottom of the park, with great views of the falls.
Unless you have a lot of time and some money to spare; make this tour.
It is a beautiful journey where you will learn several things about the vegetation and fauna.
It is very instructive for children.
They have friendly and sympathetic guide that will assist you in everything you need.
The route through the forest is very cute, depending on the weather, if it’s a clear day you will be able to take pictures of different animals.
It ends with part of the “Big Adventure” which is indescribable; you will go in a rubber boat down the Iguazu river to the falls.
It is not fit for those who do not want to get wet and no sense of adventure and fun spirit.
Enjoy it and bring a change of clothes and sandals and backpack plus a sealed plastic (zip lock) to keep your gadgets safe from the water.
The safari is one great ride and it is here where you will have a unique and exciting time while exploring the Puerto Iguazu.
More activities in Iguazu
Wanda Mines
The Wanda Mines is located about 40 km from the Puerto Iguazu and it is here where you can see “semiprecious stones” extracted from bubbles that formed in the volcanic washed stones (geodes).
The guides here carefully explain everything and you can walk along the tunnels that are filled with crystals and minerals of different colors.
At the end of the tour you can buy from loose stones up to the most expensive ones.
A tour is highly recommended and you can travel back and forth to these mines and see everything within 2 to 3 hours.
La Casa de Las Botellas
This house was built by recycling plastic bottles.
The one who created it explain how they did it and raises awareness of the many things we could do to protect the planet and control the garbage we generate.
Aside from learning a lot about recycling here in the la Casa de Las Botellas, it is also a chance to see something different and informative at the same time.
In fact, there is quite a number of ecological awareness campaigns all around Puerto Iguazu (hotels uses solar and other alternative energy) and you will really admire their effort to conserve and enforce its use in Argentina.
You can bring along the kids on this interesting site, it is a good starting point to study the issue about global warming and recycling.
Fun things to do in Puerto Iguazu
Biocentro Iguazu
The BioCentro Iguazu is part of a tour in the town of Puerto Iguazu.
You can do Guarani community tour and the bio center together that they take part of an entire afternoon.
There are lots of insect species here and it has a very cute butterfly garden and reptiles (alligators and vipers) in the area.
You will definitely like the butterfly garden, where you can see a lot of different species of butterflies flying free while surrounded by the flowers and plants in the greenhouse.
You will also like the orchid garden, it is an open space (roofed but with wide doors) where hummingbirds freely enter and leave the place.
The tour of the bio center is a delightful experience to enjoy with the kids.
The small town of Puerto Iguazu itself does not have many attractions, but it cannot go unnoticed in Argentina.
First, the Parque Nacional del Iguazu and then the frame of the three borders.
The Argentine border landmark is much better than the Paraguayan and Brazilian landmarks and no doubt it is the most three of the safe to be visited.
Anyone who loves casinos also feels at home in the city.
There is a free shuttle that takes and brings tourists every night to the hotel casinos around 21:00 pm and gives free service up to 23:30 pm when it goes back to the Foz Puerto.
There are good places to eat as well.
Do not forget a visit to the crafts fair.
It is there at the end of the city, modest place, but picks up in the late afternoon up to early evening.
Taste the cheeses, olives, hearts and salamis that are all very well served and in good quality.
