Argentina Tours & Travel | Iguazu National Park
Iguazu straddles the border between Argentina and Brazil at the northeast tip of Misiones Province. Argentina's second national park to be designated, in 1934, its purpose was to protect the spectacular waterfalls of the westward-flowing Iguazu River, considered one of the top natural wonders of the world. Except for travelers on the most leisurely of Argentina tours, the only logical way to get to Iguazu is on a ninety-minute flight from Buenos Aires. Otherwise it's a sixteen-hour bus ride from the capital. To simplify adding this out-of-the-way experience to Argentina tours, Southern Explorations offers four trips that visit Iguazu, the nine-day Iguazu Falls & Patagonia tour, the ten-day Patagonia Lakes & Iguazu Falls tour, the twelve-day Patagonia Hiking & Iguazu Falls tour and the sixteen-day Patagonia Hiking Exploration tour plus a three-day Iguazu Tour Extension that may be added to any other tour. All of these trips include a two-night stay at Iguazu, providing ample time to explore the falls, with lodgings located in the park itself so you can view the falls without the company of day-trippers.
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What is called Izuazu Falls is actually a collection of 275 separate falls that stretch one and a half miles. The 163,000-acre park includes one of the country’s most important natural reserves, a 14,826-acre sub-tropical rainforest. It extends to the border where it meets Brazil's park of the same name that protects the other side of the falls and its surrounding forests, making Iguazu a destination for both Argentina tours and tours of Brazil. In 1984, both parks were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
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Two-thirds of the falls are located in Argentina. Beyond their sheer magnitude and the falls' dramatic plunge of 230 feet, the experience is made all the more memorable for visitors on Argentina tours by the rising mists that create multiple rainbows. Many people choose to visit both sides since a close-up view can only be had from Argentina, and the massive expanse of falls can only be seen from Brazil.
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The Park's lush forests are comprised of 2,000 plant species including orchids, bromeliads, begonias, vines, ferns and soaring humidity-loving trees such as palms and bamboos, a treat for nature lovers on Argentina tours. The 30-ft flowering ceibo (the cockspur coral), the national tree of Argentina and Uruguay, grows along waterways and in wetlands here. The tree's bright red blossoms bloom from October to April. Yerba mate, from which the popular South American tea is made, grows in the heavy canopied areas.
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The park is populated by 448 bird species including parakeets, parrots and red-breasted toucans. Among its eighty mammal species are the fruit-eating tufted capuchin monkey, the tapir, ocelot, anteater, puma, snow leopard, caiman and jaguar.
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Though Europeans first "discovered" the falls in 1542, indigenous groups have inhabited the area for 10,000 years, and you'll see members of some of these groups on your Argentina tours here. Today, the Guaranies are the most prominent of these cultures in the region.
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The falls are open to the public year-round. The weather is always humid with temperatures averaging 77F in December and January and 59F in June and July. Drought conditions can diminish the falls.
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The nearest town on the Argentine side is Puerto Iguazu. Admission includes some excursions, and an interpretive center is located at the entrance to the park. For information about passport requirements before you travel to Argentina, see "Traveling to Argentina" in our Argentina Trips section
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For more information about visiting Iguazu Nation Park when you travel to Argentina, email iguazu@apn.gov.ar
