Mouth of Garganta del Diablo (Devil’s Throat)—a long and narrow chasm that takes in half of the flow of Iguazú river
Dates visited: December 29, 2013 – December 30, 2013
This was our first Argentinean stop (11 miles south of Foz de Iguaçu) to see the magnificent Iguazú Falls from the Argentinean side (second of my four I-absolutely-have-to-see waterfalls—Niagara Falls, Iguaçu/ Iguazú Falls, Victoria Falls and Angel Falls). Since I love waterfalls, this was the highlight of my trip. Iguaçu/Iguazú Falls is at the intersection of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. Having seen Iguazú Falls from the Brazilian side the previous day, we certainly saved the best for last. The Brazilian side gives a panoramic view of the falls while the Argentinean side takes you up-close to the falls. Being a waterfalls enthusiast, I’d highly recommend seeing the falls from both the sides, but if your thrill is only in experiencing the thunderous force of water (à la Niagara Falls style), then stick with the Argentinean side. Talking about Niagara Falls, Wikipedia has the following entry for Iguazú Falls: “Upon seeing Iguazu, the United States’ First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt reportedly exclaimed “Poor Niagara!” (which, at 50 m or 165 feet, are a third shorter).” She couldn’t have summed it up any better!
Iguazú Falls consists of 275 waterfalls separated by islands. There are several trails that you can take through the Iguazú National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where you can get very close to the falls. We took the mother of all trails as far as “force of nature” is concerned. This was a walkway leading you to the mouth of Garganta del Diablo (Devil’s Throat)—a long and narrow chasm that takes in half of the flow of Iguaçu river. Viewing the remarkably impressive flow of the river and hearing the unbelievably loud sound of the water from such a close distance, as it made its way over the chasm can be rated nothing less than thousand stars out of ten!
We chose to hike the Lower Circuits trail instead of the Upper Circuits trail since the former brings you at eye level or at the bottom of some of the waterfalls. As far as Rohan was concerned, this turned out to be a good choice as he enjoyed getting drenched at the base of Salto Bossetti waterfall posing for pictures.
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- Making a friend on the way
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- The calm Iguazú river before it rushes into the chasm at Devil’s Throat
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- Waters of the Iguazú River start churning and cutting into the rocks
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- Mouth of Garganta del Diablo (Devil’s Throat)—a long and narrow chasm that takes in half of the flow of Iguazú river
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- Dynamic duo with the mega force of the Iguazú River behind us
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- Panoramic view of Garganta del Diablo (Devil’s Throat)
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- I hope the snake sticks to its designated lane
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- Series of waterfalls (out of the 275) at Iguazú Falls
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- At Garganta del Diablo (Devil’s Throat), Iguazú Falls
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- A camera-friendly Argentine black and white tegu
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- San Martin island with the Devil’s Throat to the left
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- Chico waterfalls—not as small as you think
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- Bossetti waterfalls
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- San Martin falls, Mbigua falls, and Gpque. Bernabé Mendez falls among others
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- Soaked with the mist of Bossetti falls and Adan y Eva falls
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- Dos Hermanas falls
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- Series of waterfalls (out of the 275) at Iguazú Falls
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- Basically, just stay the heck out of a coati’s path
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- View of the Garganta del Diablo (Devil’s Throat)—a long and narrow chasm that takes in half of the flow of Iguazú river… …on the left is the walkway from the Brazilian side.
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- San Martin falls, Mbigua falls, and Gpque Bernabé Mendez falls among others