Iguazu Falls Boat Ride and Argentinian Side Tour Puerto Iguazu

Iguazu National Park, Argentinian side

Iguazu National Park protects the Argentinian side of the falls where the Iguazu River plunges over a basalt plateau in about 275 separate cascades along nearly three kilometres, on the border with Brazil. Created in 1934 and inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1984, the park is also one of the richest pieces of Atlantic rainforest left, with toucans, coatis, butterflies and orchids along every trail.

The Argentinian side is the one you walk through, with raised metal walkways that take you over and beside the water, while the Brazilian side offers the panoramic view. The tour starts with pickup in Puerto Iguazu, about 18 kilometres away, and the park entry fee, paid at the gate, includes the ecological train that links the trails. The guide handles the timing so you see everything in one day.

The jungle truck ride on the Yacaratiá trail

The adventure part of the day begins on an open 4x4 truck that follows the Yacaratiá trail for several kilometres through the subtropical forest of the park. From the raised benches you look into the canopy of rosewood, palmito and giant bamboo while the guide points out birds, lianas and the plants the Guaraní people used for food and medicine.

The ride ends at a wooden pier on the lower Iguazu River, where life jackets and waterproof bags are handed out before boarding. It is a gentle introduction to the forest, and a good moment to understand why this Iguazu Falls boat tour is as much about the jungle as about the water. Leave anything that must stay dry in the bags provided.

Speedboat ride beneath the falls

From the pier a powerful inflatable speedboat heads upriver through the rapids of the lower Iguazu, along the San Martín island, to the foot of the falls. The pilot takes you close to the Tres Mosqueteros cascades and then into the spray of the San Martín waterfall, the second largest in the park, where the boat is drenched by the thunder of the water. Expect to get completely wet; that is the point.

The ride lasts around 12 minutes on the water but it is the highlight most travellers talk about afterwards. It is not suitable for children under 12, pregnant women or people with back, heart or mobility problems, and it may be suspended in bad weather, in which case the boat portion is refunded and the walking tour continues. Bring a change of clothes.

The Lower Circuit

The Lower Circuit, a loop of about 1.7 kilometres with stairs, is the trail that brings you face to face with the falls. Its walkways pass below the Dos Hermanas and Chico cascades, reach the balcony in front of the Bossetti waterfall, where the spray soaks the railing, and open onto the view of the San Martín waterfall and the island that splits the river.

This is the best part of the Iguazu Falls Argentinian side tour for photographs of rainbows, swifts darting through the water and the sheer height of the cliffs. Coatis roam the path, so keep food in your bag. The guide times the circuit for about an hour and points out the pier from which you boarded the boat earlier in the day.

The Upper Circuit

The Upper Circuit is a flat walkway of around 1.7 kilometres, without stairs, that runs along the very edge of the plateau above the falls. You walk over the lips of the Dos Hermanas, Chico, Ramírez, Bossetti, Adán y Eva and Mbiguá cascades and see the river slip calmly over the edge before it explodes into the gorge below, with the San Martín island and the Brazilian shore in the distance.

Because it is flat and shaded in parts, the Upper Circuit is the easiest trail and the best for wide views; many visitors asking whether the Argentinian side of Iguazu is worth visiting are convinced here. It takes about an hour at a relaxed pace, and the Central Station of the ecological train is at its start, ready for the ride to the Devil's Throat.

The Devil's Throat and the ecological train

The ecological train, included in the park fee, carries you through the forest to the Garganta del Diablo station, from where a walkway of about 1.1 kilometres crosses the upper river on metal bridges to the edge of the Devil's Throat. This U-shaped chasm, 80 metres high and about 150 metres wide, swallows half the river's flow in a permanent cloud of mist that rises above the forest.

Standing on the final platform, with the roar beneath your feet and swifts nesting behind the water, is the climax of any Iguazu day trip. The best time to visit Iguazu Falls for water volume is after the summer rains, from January to March; the mornings are calmer and the late afternoon light produces rainbows. From here the guide leads the group back to the train and the vehicle for the return to Puerto Iguazu.