We continued our walk around the paths overlooking the magnificent Iguazu Falls on the Argentinian side. I posted an extensive narrative from Wikipedia but, at the risk of being repetitive, here's some additional information from the Iguazu website.
“My poor Niagara …”
That is what Eleonor Roosevelt said when she saw Iguazu Falls.
Welcome to Iguazu Falls! One of the most important destinations in Argentina, Brazil and South America!
Every year, millions of people come to visit this beautiful natural attraction that Argentina and Brazil have to offer. During 2019, the park received 1,640,000 visitors, both local and foreign.
And everyone is amazed with this destination!
The Iguazu National Park consists of two national parks, one in Foz de Iguazu (Brazil) and the other one in Puerto Iguazu (Argentina). The curious thing is that although one only sees the falls as the main attraction, the park has a size of 252,982 hectares (67,720 on the Argentine side and 185,262 on the Brazilian side).
These falls in Argentina and Brazil managed to attract so much attention that almost at the same time they were declared National Parks (1934 in Argentina and 1939 in Brazil). And after some years and millions of visitors fascinated by the landscape and the sound of this natural attraction, UNESCO declared them as World Heritage Site in 1984, and reaffirmed as Exceptional Universal Value (their cultural and nature it’s so important that it’s conservation should be of worldwide interest) in 2013.
Why are they so famous? It is enough to just see photos and videos to be amazed by its beauty. But it is not only about tourism: the Iguazu National Park is home to many species of animals and flora that create an important natural ecosystem connected to all Latin America.
Each visitor who comes to the Iguazu Falls collaborates to continue the conservation work for the area.
And obviously, Iguazu Falls have allowed the development of local economies, making the city of Puerto Iguazu and Foz de Iguazu grow and improve the quality of life of its inhabitants.
📜 History of Iguazu Falls
The Iguazu National Park, shared between Brazil and Argentina, is one of the main attraction, not only touristically, but also ecological and natural. Millions of people enjoy this impressive natural wonder, supported by UNESCO.
But before this place was what we know nowadays, it had a curious story.
The origin of the name Iguazu comes from the Mbyá-Guaraní indigenous people, who in the translation into our Spanish, would remain as “Agua Grande” (big water). The reason for the name is self-explanatory.
The first person who found Iguazu Falls was a Spanish explorer named Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca, who during a journey from what we now know as Asunción (Paraguay) would encounter the falls, which he would call “Saltos del Santa Mary”.
Later, the first Jesuit missions arrived (today its ruins are an interesting tourist attraction), which made up more than 30 towns distributed in southern Paraguay, Brazil, and the entire province of Misiones. After this, by 1768, the Jesuits would be expelled by the Crown of Spain, and the place would be forgotten.
Some time later, Gregorio Lezama, an Argentine businessman and politician, would sell the land because he considered it of low value. In the auction it appeared as “a block of jungle that borders several waterfalls”.
These lands would be acquired by Domingo Ayarragaray in 1907, who would discover the tourist potential of the place, setting up the first hotel and setting up some roads for people to get to know the falls.
It is interesting to mention that, in 1901, the first tourist excursion to the area arrived, but without positive results since it was difficult to cross the place. One of the participants in this group was Victoria Aguirre, who thanks to their donation together with Gibaja and Nuñez, allowed them to build the first highway from Puerto Iguazu (Misiones, Argentina) to Iguazu Falls.
Years later, Puerto Iguazu would grow thanks to tourism and wood resources in the area. And in 1934, Law 12,103 would allow the creation of the “Iguazu National Park”. Giving entity -especially legal- to this natural spectacle.
In 1984, UNESCO declared the Iguazu National Park as “World Heritage”. In 2011, the New Seven Wonders Foundation declared it “New Wonder of the World”. And finally, in 2013, UNESCO again declared the Iguazu National Park as “Exceptional Universal Value”, due to the cultural and natural importance of this area.
🗺️ Location of Iguazu Falls
Iguazu Falls are in the continent of South America, and as we mentioned, it is shared by two countries: Argentina and Brazil. Although Paraguay is nearby, it only shares the river that Iguazu Falls feeds, but it is quite far from the falls and cannot even be seen from there.
The city in Argentina where the Iguazu Falls are located is called Puerto Iguazu, and in Brazil it is called Foz de Iguazu. Both cities are very close to each other: only 16km from center to center.
Iguazu Falls on the Argentine side are located 18km from Puerto Iguazu and 29km from the center of Foz de Iguazu.
Iguazu Falls on the Brazilian side are 27km from Puerto Iguazu, and 29km from downtown Foz de Iguazu
Both cities are very close to each national park, that is why all the excursions that we offer on both sides of the falls can pick up from any hotel in both destinations (except in hotels far from the center such as Recanto Cataratas).
The destination is close to several major cities with direct flights. For example, going to Iguazu Falls from Buenos Aires only needs to take a plane to get there in about 2 hours. From Rio de Janeiro you can also get to Iguazu in two hours.
https://iguazufalls.com/national-park/For additional information and more images, please see my previous post:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-737780-1.htmlI hope you enjoy the set!
Mark
We continued our walk around the paths overlooking... (
