I got a package tour for 3 days from Buenos Aires which included my flight, hotel, buffet breakfast and set dinner, and tours of the waterfalls and a trip to San Ignacio Mini and all transfers. Cost was $300 US.
San Ignacio Mini Jesuit Missions
My first day was the tour of San Ignacio Mini, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These were located about 150 miles south of Puerto Iguazu, so it made for a long round-trip on a bus for a single day. As it turned out, I was the non-Spanish speaking person on our tour bus, so the guide would explain the sites to everyone and then do an explanation in English for me. It made me a bit self-conscience, but the other tourists didn’t seem to mind. Almost none of the 20 other tourists were Argentines, but they were mostly from other south American countries or Spain. The Jesuit missions were built in the late 1600s and were the home to hundreds of local Guarani Indians who had converted to Catholism. The structures were still standing, but seemed in poor condition, There was some renovation going on. If you ever saw the Robert De Niro movie “The Mission”, this was the real-world version.
Jesuit Mission ruins from the 1600s
IGUAZU FALLS
This was the highlight of my Argentina trip and the reason for being in this corner of the country. The falls are split between Argentina and Brazil, with most of them in Argentina, but the big water flows seem to be in Brazil. The day of my visit was clear and the temperatures were in the low 90’s. My first views of this place as I approached were spectacular and nearly lead me to commit philosophy. Luckily I had detached myself from the tour group which got me from my hotel into the National Park. I could hike the trails as I wished and linger, wherever, on my own schedule. For some reason, the trails of this park were the home to thousands and thousands of butterflies. Places like this are best for wandering, contemplation and not listening to a tour guide.
My first view of Iguazu Falls - what you your impressions be?
The Argentina side had a trail which lead to one of the largest of the waterfalls areas called the “Devil’s Throat”, but this trail had washed out in a storm the previous month, so it was not available. Two trails were available – one high trail which was at the height of the falls and a lower trail which was near the river level. There was also a free boat service which took visitors to an island which was located below the falls between Argentina and Brazil.
Argentina side of Iguazu Falls
A Word About Getting a Brazil Visa from Puerto Iguazu
Earlier, I had asked my tour company about getting to the Brazil side of the falls. You must have a Brazilian visa, they said. All tours going to the Brazilian falls from Argentina need a visa.
What the tour companies will not say is that you don't need a tour to reach the Brazil side of the falls. And if you are not on a tour, you don't need a visa.
I hadn't got a visa earlier, because my guidebook said I didn’t need one and they also cost $100 (for a single afternoon of sightseeing). I asked my hotel manager about it, and he also said it was impossible to enter Brazil without a visa. Then he thought a bit more, and said there was a way. I could --hire a driver to get me across the border and back. He arranged a driver for me for $30 to drive me across to the Brazilian falls and back.
I almost got my hotel manager in trouble when I accidentily mentioned this driving arrangement to my tour company - it seems as though the tour company and the hotel managers they deal with on the package tours have an exclusive deal where they only exchange services with each other. They cannot make outside arrangements which takes business away from the other partner.
My arranged driver took me on the short drive out of Argentina, and I got an exit stamp from the Argentina customs. Once in Brazil, there wasn’t even a passport entry station. My passport was stamped with an exit, but not an entry to Brazil for my entire afternoon in the Brazilian National Park. For several hours, I was a man without a country. In Brazil I saw many tourists who had chosen to walk across the border from Argentina and take a short bus ride to the Brazil National Park entrance. It really wasn't very far. I recommend walking across the border as a cheaper alternative than a paid driver. Once in Brazil, you can take a public bus or taxi to the national park. Once inside the park entrance, you take the free national park buses to the site of the falls.
View of Argentina falls from Brazil side of river
The Brazilian side only had a single hiking trail leading into the falls area, but the trail took you INTO the falls, not alongside. There was an elevated observation platform constructed between the upper and lower falls and faced directly towards the majority of water flow. It was spectacular!
Elevated walkway into the falls on the Brazil side
Brazil side of Iguazu Falls
Experiencing vacation bliss in Brazil