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.

Iguazu: The lower trail

Part of the falls

We have moved from Buenos Aires to Iguazu in the northwest of Argentina, home to the famous waterfalls and said to be of the best places in the world to see butterflies. We are staying at the Sheraton hotel inside the national park and we decided to begin our exploration by walking the Lower Trail (Sentado Inferior). I was thrilled to photograph my first Iguazu butterfly on the way to the start of the trail: a Crimson Peacock.

We had taken, unintentionally, a short cut towards the main falls, but this meant that we built up nicely to the main event.  Soon we came to our first waterfalls, a twin cascade called Las dos hermanas, the two sisters. 

This was quickly followed by a smaller waterfall, Bossetti, with a distinct rainbow effect where the water hit the pool below.

 We emerged onto a view area where a more dramatic wall of water was to be seen.

We now took a steep path down down a track which seemed to lead to San Martin Island and were immediately greeted by a Giant Swallowtail which was just demanding to be photographed.

It was soon joined by a Broad-banded Swallowtail.

As we walked along the path by the water we noticed a number of very wet people coming towards us and eventually we worked out that this path led to where the boats which gave you a close-up view of the falls departed from. We remember getting quite well soaked on the Maid of the Mist at Niagara a few years ago, but these were much smaller craft and the soaking on offer seemed much more comprehensive.

I did get a nice picture of a Julia butterfly along the way however.

When we could go no further we retraced our steps, but this detour had offered some good views of the falls and a few butterflies, so it was well worth it.

We now found ourselves going against the flow of people, but soon reached a major view point, where people were jostling to take selfies using the selfie-sticks that were all around. I opted for a high view-point above the crowd.

At the back of the viewing area I was pleased to spot this cheerfully coloured Plush-chested Jay.

The remainder of the walk back to the start was relatively uneventful. Various colourful butterflies glided past, but none would agree to be photographed.

Conditions: sunny and hot, but cooled by the spray from the falls.

Distance: the actual trail is 1.6 km.

Rating: Five stars.

La Paz Waterfall garden

View over the garden

We arrived in Costa Rica yesterday for a two week holiday and are today en route for our first destination, the Salva Verde Lodge at Puerta Viejo di Sarapiqui. We stopped mid-way at the La Paz (Peace) Waterfall Garden. We didn't really know what to expect, but it functioned as an excellent introduction to Costa Rica and its wildlife.

La Paz is a mixture of garden, river and wildlife sanctuary and we began by descending past lovely tropical plants to see some aviaries and in particular the three main varieties of Toucan which are found in the country. This is the Chestnut-mandibled Toucan (the others are the Keel-billed and Green).

Next door was a butterfly house. It was so cloudy that most of the butterflies were clustered near the roof, but I did get a nice shot of this Postman. I was told later that it is so called because it visits the same nectar plants in the same order each morning. I don't know if this is in fact true, but it's a great story.

Next we walked down a series of paths to see the first of a series of waterfalls - and of course pose for some souvenir pictures.

A series of walkways followed the path of the river and revealed the next waterfall.

At the end the narrow valley opens out and the river continues at the base of a much wider and very deep-sided valley. We were all set to walk back up, but a shuttle bus was waiting and spared us the trouble.

Back at the main garden, we visited our first hummingbird garden. A series of feeders provide sugared water which the hummingbirds access by inserting their long thin beaks into a matching hole. The birds are wild, but are drawn to the feeders by the easy food source. They are almost constantly on the move, whirring, hovering, stopping and starting in mid-air like characters in a cartoon. However, with a bit of patience it was possible to get some nice pictures of them either on a feeder ...

... or preparing for the next onslaught sitting on a nearby branch.

Costa Rica boasts some 54 species of hummingbird - and in fact has improbable numbers of species of almost every type of creature imaginable. For example, more than a thousand species of butterfly.

The final section of our tour was more uncomfortable. A series of enclosures held some of the big cats that are the top predators: puma, jaguars and ocelots. Although these were said to be animals which had been rescued and would be released into the wild if suitable territories could be found for them, we couldn't escape the feeling that we were in a zoo, with these dramatic animals sitting listlessly in their smallish enclosures.

We headed on our way to Sarapiqui and were delighted when our driver stopped to show us a Coati by the road side.

It turned out that there was a whole group of them (I think band may be the collective noun) lurking by a lay-by waiting for cars to stop and feed them. When a car stopped they would all rush (I could very aptly have said hightail) towards it with an expectant air. If food was on offer they would mob the people, if not they would quickly turn away disdainfully and wait for the next arrival. The Coati is related to the raccoon and the long tail helps balance when climbing trees.

Conditions: damp at first, but brightening up after lunch.

Distance: perhaps two miles, maybe less.

Rating: four stars.