In the far northeastern corner of Argentina on the borders with both Brazil and Paraguay are the Iguazu Falls (las Cataratas del Iguazu), one of South America’s stunning natural wonders, hence Iguazu translates from Guarani (native Indian language) in to “great waters”. Their entire glory can only be appreciated from the Parque Nacional Foz do Iguacu where you’ll get a panoramic view, however if you want to get really close to the waters and the wildlife, it’s better to visit the sub-tropical forests of Parque Nacional Iguazu in Argentina created in 1934. UNESCO has declared both parks World Heritage Sites.

In all Igauzu is made up of a spectacular set of 275 falls which stretches for almost three kilometres in a horseshoe semi-circle. Some 1,800 cubic meters of waters falls on average per second, dropping for over 70 meters and thunderously crashing on to basalt rock below, thereby creating perpetual billowing clouds of mist up to 30 metres high, through which the sun shines to make dazzling rainbows. Around the falls grow over 2,000 plant species, including a multitude of flowering plants, such as lianas, begonias and orchids, and 200 trees, such as the laurel del rio, aguay, palo rosa, ceibo and palmito, not to mention fantastic lush-green ferns.

The area is also home to over 500 species of butterflies and 400 species of birds, including various parrots, toucans, great dusky swifts (vencejos), red-rumped caciques, blond-crested woodpeckers, squirrel cuckoo, river warblers, rusty-barred owl and innumerable others. Insects, frogs and lizards are abundant while the 70 or more species of mammals, such as the anteater, tapir, howler monkey, ocelot and brocket deer, tend to be nocturnal.

The falls were first discovered by the Spaniard Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca while he was leading an expedition from Brazil to Paraguay in 1542. He called them the Saltos de Santa Maria. After he left the falls were forgotten for hundreds of years until the early 20th century when Juan Lanusse, the then governor of Misiones province started to promote tourism within the area and the first hotel was built beside the falls in 1922. They are now one of South America’s top tourist attractions with over one-and-a-half million visitors a year. On both sides, the Argentine and the Brazilian, the falls are contained within respective national parks, Parque Nacional Iguazu and Parque Nacional Foz do Iguacu.