Iguazu: Upper Trail

The Falls from a viewpoint on the Upper Trail

The Iguazu Falls are an astounding 275 separate (or at least, separately identified) waterfalls arranged in a 4km wide horseshoe. The number of waterfalls in fact varies seasonally according to how much water there is in the river. Most are in Argentina, but some are in Brazil. The maximum drop is about 90m. They are the result of a geological fault which developed 200,000 years ago.

A couple of days ago we walked the Lower Trail, which offers great views looking up at the Falls. Today we are doing the Upper Trail, which offers views looking down. We were advised that late afternoon (say 4pm) was the best time to do it, and naturally we followed that advice.

The entrance point is a walkway over a small river. This continues through light jungle until you reach another, rather pretty, stream rushing from the right.

As you approach the first view point, there is a fantastic view over a waterfall downwards to one of the viewing points on the lower trail.

We had been told there was normally a rainbow over the Falls in late afternoon and soon we started to see it over the area we had walked along when we did the Lower Trail.

At the second view point the Falls stretched away towards the Brazilian side.

This view, with a waterfall in the foreground, is perhaps even more dramatic.

And soon there was an even more perfect view of the rainbow.

The most dramatic view of all was from the final view point, where the Falls were at their most elemental.

Conditions: hot, sunny.

Distance: only just over a km there and back.

Rating: five stars.

The New Seven Wonders of the World voting process did not include Iguazu among its winners (Christ the Redeemer, Great Wall of China, Macchu Picchu, Petra, Chichén Itzá, Colosseum, Taj Mahal), but it was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature a few years later.