Iguazú city

The City

A good reccomendation would be to leave the falls for last, as they're so breath-taking that nothing else will seem as beautiful as they really are.
Puerto Iguazú is an awe-inspiring place. Located in the triple border of South America, this place offers loads of beautiful settings and a mix of fauna and flora it's difficult to find anywhere else.

The city buildings are no taller than a one story house, creating an atmosphere of a quite place and always giving you a very relaxing view of its clear skies.

Also, it makes it easier to see when there might be a storm coming.

Take a pair sandals with you!
If you ever get caught by rain, do not disspair as tropical rain is not cold at all and not even the temperature goes down.
Beware that the streets get incredibly flooded so if you get caught in the middle of a storm you can either wait untill it stops (wich is not really reccomended as tropical storms can last quite long) or you can simply start crossing roads as if they were short-depth rivers.

Even if you decide to go in June/August wich are the coldest months in Argentina, you'll have to put up with almost 27ºC almost everyday. Like I said, rain doesn't change temperature.


Althought it's not really the tempratures you should be aware of over there, it's the humidity in the air.
If you search for forecasts of the area before going there to know what to pack, don't waste your time because temperatures will be the same as in Buenos Aires (normal winter temperatures).


But it's the humidity that adds to a good 25ºC or 27ºC celsius degrees.
The soil of this province is not brown as it is anywhere else, it's red, due to the high content of iron in the ground.

Structure
One important characteristic of this city are its hills.
In general Argentina's cities are situated in flat lands.
But Puerto Iguazú is a clear exception to this, having hills everywhere and making going anywhere a really difficult and tiring task at the beggining.
As an Argentinian brought up in the most flatened flatness of Buenos Aires I found the city a hell in that sense.
But the English side of the story didn't find it strange nor uncomfortable.

Anwyay, there's always a bus that can take you anywhere you need.
The city is not big at all. But it is bigger than a map of it might make you think.

You'll see everything is different over there and even the simplest thing will look wildly tropical.
The redness of the soil, the incredible size of the grass and the leaves of the trees, the streets made of thin triangular black stones, the constant warm air...



Facilities

This city is more than used to European tourists and so they have all the facilities you might need.

It's easy to get anywhere and most important of all: you CAN get anywhere you need.

There's more than plenty of places to stay, anywhere you want to stay in the area. From the city center to close to the Falls, adn even inside the Falls Park!

There will always be a bus to anywhere you need to go...unlike other parts of Argentina.


Eating

Also, restaurants offer "tourist menus" for those who want to make the most out of every penny and are not on a luxurious holiday.

The main street has a various display of restaurants for all tastes and budgets.

Iguazú: things to do

The most important thing to know about Puerto Iguazú is that the Iguazú Falls even though they are more than awe-inspiring and breathtaking, they are not the only thing in the city.
Of course, they will be the peak of your staying there, so I would suggest you go there the last. But it's just a suggestion.




Triple Border

One of the most beautiful places Puerto Iguazú has-specially during sunset-is the Triple Southamerican Border.

It is exactly where Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina almost become one.


They are only divided by narrow river, and you can see the streest and houses in Brazil and the building in Paraguay. It's a very calm point and you can local buses take you there.
If you go during the day, you can take a 10 minute boat ride to Ciudad del Este in Paraguay, wich is- they say- a place where you can get anything for cheaper than a shilling (and those don't even exist anymore)


If you think of going ot Paraguay by bus from Puerto Iguazú, there's no other road but via Brazil. Hence, it takes longer.

Wanda Mines

The Wanda Mines are a very offered tourist service.


Despite its condition of mine, you'll see it's considered a vilage in the map.

You have to take a half an hour bus more or less, and you'll get to a sign. That's all Wanda is: a sign and a road that starts there, leading you into a tropical area.


Walking up it, you'll find the mine with time , and on your way you might run into local kids that will try selling you precious stones for very low prices.

The entrance to the mine has a fee, and you get a guided tour round it including an informative talk on the minerals they work, and a gift shop.


The stones in their gift shop are polished and have deeper colours (wich means more purity) but they probably cost 10 to 15 times more than the ones the kids outside the place sell.

The Aripuca

If you're looking for a very very calm place, the Aripuca is ideal. There are no sounds there, unless you ask for the paraguayan lady to play the harp for you for free.

This instrument is one of the very few sounds on Earth that can make you relax, no exception. It's even used now in spas.

The same entrance ticket can be used as many times as you like! So I'd suggest you take advantage of it.

Aripuca means "bird cage" in the local native language, and that is exactly what this place is: The biggest bird trap in the world.

But don't worry, it doens't work coz it's too big, you have stairs to go all the way up.

One activity offered in this place is bowing: a native will teach you how to shoot an arrow with a bow.

Guira Oga

If you're looking for wildlife, don't expect to find much at the Falls' Park, like I said before.
Many of the past days' common wildlife is now in danger of extintion.

However, there's Guira Oga: a natural reserve for tropical and non tropical animals.
There, you can find from toucans to eagles, to owls to carpinchos.

The carpincho is a southamerican rodent...and it's the biggest and heaviest in the world.
Still you'll see, it's very nice looking animal. It doesn not look like a rat, don't worry.

Guira Oga is a NGO, so they charge an entrance fee to support the place, its guests and staff.
It's on the way to the Falls.

The House of Bottles

Another place to visit is the House of Bottles, wich is exaclty what it's called: an entire house made out of plastic bottles.


Even it's heating sistem is made out of the same thing using a special mechanism.

It's close to the Aripuca.

Iguazú

Iguazú is the perfect place to visit a tropical rainforest without having to leave the comfort civilization gives you.
This city offers the perfect combination of modern life and natural peace.
If there's one thing this city does not lack is the presence of English tourists. So don't worry about the language as everybody speaks English -unlike other areas of Argentina.

Don't worry about people trying to rip you off for hearing your language, because just your accent will be enough in case you don't speak perfectly. Just don't take taxis and by that you'll be saving enough.

Unfortunatelly, many tourists go to this beautiful city just to take some pictures of the Falls and then leave.


But Puerto Iguazú offers incredible places and landscapes and unique experiences.