Iguazu vs Niagra (and other ramblings)

From Iguazu Falls

Please note that all the pictures/movies in this posting are from the Iguazu falls. If you would like to see pictures/movies of the Niagara falls, please see our Niagara Falls posting by clicking HERE.

Last summer we went to Niagara Falls and the next summer (which, thanks to changing hemispheres, was only four months later) we went to Iguazu Falls. The entire time I toured Iguazu falls, I couldn't help but compare them with Niagara. Niagara Falls are hands down the best falls in North America and Iguazu Falls are hands down the best falls in South America. However, the similarities don't stop there.

Niagara Falls are on the border between the USA and Canada, while Iguazu Falls are between Argentina and Brazil. The USA and Argentina are on the southern side of the falls, and both countries provide a much more intimate viewing of the their falls. At USA Niagara you can ride a boat called "Maid of the Mist" where they provide you with a rain jacket and you ride right up next to the falls. At Argentina Iguazu the boat ride is called the Nautic Adventure. There they don't even bother to give you a jacket because they ride up so close you literally can't see anything but water. Most people stripped down to their underwear or swimsuits for the ride. I wore my rain jacket, but the water poured down my neck and up my sleeves, so only the middle of my back stayed dry. Dan didn't wear the hood of his jacket so he got completely soaked. Below is a picture of us on the Nautic Adventure:

From Iguazu Falls

The USA and Argentina falls both also have catwalks where you can walk right next to the falls. The US catwalks are called "Cave of the Winds". Although you have to wait in a pretty long line, they give you a rain jacket and silly little slippers to wear. Then you get to walk so close to the falls that at times it is difficult to move forward because the wind/water is so strong. In Argentina they have the "Passeios Inferiores", which is 1.5 km of walkways that weave around the lower part of the falls. Although these are much more extensive than their US counterpart and you can get equally wet if you so desire, they aren't quite as intense as their US counterpart.

From Iguazu Falls

In both the USA and Argentina you can also walk around the top of the falls. However, with the Argentine version you can get much closer to the falls. It is actually broken into two sections called Garganta do Diablo (for the biggest waterfall) and Passeios Superiores (for most other falls). Garganta do Diablo translates to devil's throat, and seeing all those tons of frothy water come erupting out of the river is quite hypnotizing:

From Iguazu Falls

The Passeios Superiores is especially great on sunny days because in addition to the falls, you can see tons of rainbows. The first day we went to the falls it was pouring rain by the time we got to the Passeios Superiores, but the next day was sunny so we went back, and it was well worth the repeat trip. Below is a movie taken from the Passeios Superiores, but if you can't see it, try clicking here.



However, crossing the international borders was definitely easier in North America, which simply involved paying a small fee and walking across a bridge right next to the parks. In South America we had to take a bus between the Argentine and Brazilian towns in addition to taking separate buses from the towns to their respective falls. This would have been very difficult to do in one day. We ended up spending two days on the Argentine side and one day on the Brazilian side.

We also had to get a Brazilian visa because we were planning to travel around Brazil after seeing the falls (you can avoid getting a visa if you only go to Brazil for the day). For every other South American country we just showed up at the border and paid nothing. However, for Brazil they require that you apply for a visa in advance and pay them $100 US (however, I can't be too mad about the $100 because Brazil charges everyone however much their country charges Brazilians to enter, and the US charges them $100 for visas). We couldn't get our Brazilian visas before leaving for our trip because they are only good for 3 months and we were going to Brazil at the end of our 3.5 month trip. We tried to get them in Buenos Aires, Argentina a few weeks before heading up to Iguazu. However, after first finding our way to the Brazilian embassy, being told we were at the wrong place, and then making it to the Brazilian consulate, we found that they were only open in the morning. Fortunately, the security guard was able to give us the huge list of things we needed to obtain the visa, including exit tickets for how we would leave Brazil, entry tickets for how we would enter Brazil, address and phone number of where we would be staying in Brazil, credit card photo copies, and two months worth of bank statements.

The next morning we woke up early and headed down to the Brazilian consulate with as much of the info as we could muster. There were about five groups ahead of us in line, and one by one we saw each one of them get rejected. As each one of them left, I asked what they were missing. One girl said she hadn't yet booked her hotel in Brazil so she didn't have a Brazilian address. We were in the same predicament, so the people ahead of us in line let us copy their address. I felt like I was cheating on a test, but seriously, why do they need that, especially if we planned on staying in three or four different hotel while in Brazil. However, we still got rejected because we didn't have entry tickets. We were planning to hop on a bus to take us across the Iguazu border, which is literally as formal as hopping on a CTA (local Chicago) bus, so there was no way to purchase advance tickets. We explained the situation to the lady behind the counter, so she suggested that we should just wait and get our visas in Iguazu. I worried about waiting until the last minute to get our visas, but it turned out to be MUCH easier there. All we had to do was fill out a form and pay them the $100 and we had our visas in less than an hour. They didn't even ask to see tickets, bank statements, or even yellow cards (proof of immunizations)! We learned that getting visas in BsAs in nearly impossible, but then again, we found that any sort of administrative task, such as buying plane tickets, calling home, or booking hotels, is a huge pain there.

So any way, back to Iguazu versus Niagara. Brazil and Canada are both on the northern side of their falls. However, Canada is the much more touristy side for Niagara, but Argentina is actually the more the touristy side for Iguazu. Foz do Iguaçu, the Brazilian town, is big enough that it has more going on than just the falls. I suspect that it is closer aligned with Buffalo, NY. On the other hand, both the Canadian and Brazilian sides focus much more on the panoramic views of the falls rather than getting right up in there like you do in the US and Argentina. However, unlike Canada, Brazil provides a little bit more than just the panoramic view. You also get to ride a cute little double decker bus from the park's edge to the falls, and there is one catwalk that will get you a little wet (although not near as wet as you can get in Argentina or the USA).

From Iguazu Falls

One thing that Iguazu has that Niagara definitely lacks is the jungle and all of the fun jungle animals. In Argentina we saw the following:

Giant lizard animal (its body was about a foot long):

From Iguazu Falls

Several packs of raccoon-like animals called coatis:

From Iguazu Falls

Some sort of rodent that looked like a cross between a guinea pig and a rat:

From Iguazu Falls

In Brazil we saw hundreds of millipedes all over that path that were anywhere from 2-8 inches long:

From Iguazu Falls

On both sides we saw tons of pretty butterflies:

From Iguazu Falls

Since there was not quite as much to do on the Brazilian side of the falls, we also went to see the light show at the Itaipu Dam. The Itaipu Dam provides 94% of Paraguay's electricity and 20% of Brazil's electricity, but it also caused a lot of debt for Brazil and destroyed a lot of rain forest in its making. It was obvious that the light show was an attempt to get people to accept the dam. We had to arrive an hour early for the show, and many of the ladies were wearing nice cocktail dresses. Fortunately, I had on my nicest jeans, sparkle butt and all. When it was time for the show to start we piled into buses. There were so many people at the show it took five buses to fit us all! The buses let us out on a hill overlooking the dam. The lights dimmed and two Vegas-style announcers came out and welcomed us. Then we watched a short video on the making of the dam, which, judging by the soundtrack, was created sometime in the mid-70's. Finally, the video screens lifted and it was time for the show! We heard music, and with each phrase of the song, another portion of the dam would light up. As the music got more intense, the dam got brighter and brighter. After about five minutes, the song was over and the dam was completely lit up. Then the music stopped and everyone got up to leave. We piled back into the buses, did a quick drive down closer to the damn, and then headed back to the entrance gates. It was neat seeing the dam, but the show could use a little work.

From Iguazu Falls

Overall, I'd say that both Niagara and Iguazu falls are amazing. However, if you're tight on time, the southern side of the falls (USA or Argentina) tend to be a little more thrilling. Avoid getting a Brazilian visa in Buenos Aires at all costs, and unless you're really excited about dams, I'd skip the Itaipu light show.

From Iguazu Falls