Brasil: Foz do Iguaçu

Dwarfed by the vast falls, only a small part of which are visible in the background, a ferry from the mid-river island approached the dock on the mainland. September 2000.

I have been able to visit the Great Falls of the Iguaçu River on two different occasions. Once was with a combined missionary group from two churches in the USA in September of 2000, and in January of 2002 it was with friends from one of the English Camps operated by the missionaries in the Londrina area. The September of 2000 visit was part of a much longer Spring, 2000 ( July to December ) visit to Londrina.

Because of the popularity of the falls as a subject, I have decided to place some photos from my visits to them in this separate web page, outside of the descriptions of my missionary trips to that country, and more in line with the General Brazilian Information that you will find here.

I hope that you enjoy the photos that I have of this wonderful feature in God's creation.

A map of the falls region. The area seen in the photo above is circled in red. This gives some idea of the size of the falls: approximately 2 miles of falls in width, and over 200 feet high. A somewhat longer description of how large the falls are is located on a page that describes the narrow gauge trains used for transportation on the Argentine side of the river.

During the January of 2002 visit to the falls, a toucan decided to try to eat something in this tree. Between several investigations of something inside the leaf clusters, it perched on one of the limbs. He is in the far right middle of this photograph. In the background is the area known as the "Three Musketeers", though that term does not apply on this day, as the falls are full of water and the "three" has become approximately seven.

The "Three Musketeers" during the September of 2000 visit. Much lower water levels this month clearly shows the three main streams in the lower falls.

For thrill seekers, tour rafts, with two huge outboard engines on them, will take you on a journey up the lower portion of the Rio Iguaçu as far as they dare, given the conditions of the river. Note raft in lower right side of this photo. These huge rubber rafts can hold perhaps 25 to 30 people. They journey towards the place called

Garganta do Diablo:

Garganta do Diablo: The Throat of the Devil. The main channel of the river falls is in the form of a huge V, and at the very tip of this V, the falling water from two or more different directions clash and form a tangle of currents no one has ever seen, because it is hidden behind a vast cloud of mist. We can only imagine the spectacle that must be behind such a cloud.

The Argentine side of the river features a walkway that goes to the top of the Garganta do Diablo. Some impression of the violence of its currents may be seen in the background, before it vanishes into the throat some 200 feet below us.

Other evidence of the power of the falls is shown by the ghostly remains of the old walkway, which was destroyed when several major storms in a short period caused the river level to rise by many, many feet. The Rio Iguaçu is a bit like a cat: you can live next to it, but it will never really be tame.

A view from the walkway on the Argentine side of the river. The size of the falls in that area is not very clear when viewed from the Brazilian side of the river (see photo at top of page) because the cliffs on the island in the middle of the river hide a large portion of the falls.

Transportation inside the national park on the Argentine side of the river is handled by these little narrow gauge trains that operate somewhat like a commuter train does.