Iguassu - Niagara

I posted this pic in the thread on Niagara revisited. But it was a

late response, and may be missed by many.

 

For me these falls beat the pants of Niagara - and even Victoria -

one of the great natural wonders of the world, without the

commercial buildup clutter that despoils Niagara.

 

This pic with a beat-up old IIIb and Elmar. It shows little of the

size of the falls - just a glimpse between the trees - and if you go

visit, don't miss the bird and wildlife park just by the bus stop

near the entrance to the National Park entrance. Fly to Iguassu via

San Paolo, and from there you can catch a local bus and do your own

thing. No need to do any guided-tour.<div></div>

Get an Argentinian visa so that you may also view from the other side of the river and take a "Zodiac" trip below the falls. Allow two or three days to really see this wonderful display of nature.

Hmm. Y'r pic isn't of the falls, its of a tiny bit of the falls. Only an aerial shot, i.e., from an aircraft, could capture all of the falls on one frame.

 

I've driven over three times from Asuncion, its an easy half-day drive. As of the last time I went, in '96, the borders were somewhat open, i.e., the points that required a visa to pass were well within Brazil and Argentina. No visa was required to cross from PY into Brazil and go as far as PN Iguacu, and no visa was required to cross from Brazil into Argentina and go as far as PN Iguassu.

 

A good visit to the falls requires at least a day on each side. From the Brazilian side, one sees the cascades across the valley of the Rio Iguassu. On the Argentine side, one can walk among them. Both are wonderful experiences.

Guys - you're right - my pic doesn't give any idea of the might and size of these falls - and yes - at least a day there. I have a load more pics, but this the only one on my laptop. I stayed in Iguassu town - easy ride out on a local bus - and made a couple of visits.

 

Rob

You can see all of Niagara Falls without an airplane, machete, slit latrine, malaria, or bandits(except the one arm kind).

Ah well Kerry - lose some. Ok - you like Niagara - that's fine.

Kerry Kennedy wrote "You can see all of Niagara Falls without an airplane, machete, slit latrine, malaria, or bandits(except the one arm kind)."

 

Um, KK, are you the man himself or the daughter who sometimes uses his account? Whichever KK you are, I don't know where you got your machete, slit latrine, malaria, or bandits fantasies.

 

PN Iguacu is a very well developed national park near the major town of Foz do Iguacu; PN Iguassu is a very well developed national park on the other side of the border. No need for a machete, in fact if a visitor were detected molesting the vegetation he/she/it would be fined, possibly jailed. No need for slit latrines, there are fine toilets. Malaria? Bandits? At one of the world's major attractions? Visited by millions of travelers every year? Where is your head?

 

KK, get your head out of I dare not imagine where and learn about the wonders, also horrors, that economic development has accomplished in the third world. Also learn that Iguassu Falls is not comparable to Niagara. Its bigger. Read a book or visit the place. You might enjoy the visit, especially if you get over your fantasies.

I prefer Iguaz�, nevertheless Niagara was a lot higher reflected in Marilyn�s eyes.

It is not a question. Can not write accents. Iguazu has an acent on the u

Where do I get my fantasies. Possibly from all the Amerinds (aborigenes?) with Spanish surnames that seem to think they have the right to move into my civilization, rather than fashion their own. Fromm, sometime your 2x3 mouth is going to get you 1x2 butt in some deep doodoo.

Luis, there's also a Rio Yguazu in PY, tributary of the Acaray. Been there too. The Acaray is a west bank tributary of the Parana.

 

Kerry, presumably the father, I'm sorry but these days there aren't many places left where the great romantic triple canopy fantasies can be sustained. The world isn't what it was when we were much, much younger.

 

You'd be astonished at what's become of the once-impenetrable Darien jungle, for a really upsetting example. I went there for the first time in '83 with a character whose fantasies were, I suspect, more extreme than yours. He came away from his encounter with that reality quite crushed. And nowadays there's municipal street lighting, paved roads, banks, stores, gas stations, hotels, even a baseball stadium. In '83 the tallest structure we saw was a billboard advertising Stihl chain saws. I don't think we stopped to take a picture of it.

Kerry, you're so much wiser when you stick to photography.

Dan please, do not call Mr. Kennedy KK. It is not any good what it means in Spanish language.

Kerry, do you ever leave your backyard barbecue pit? Don't feel so insecure...Wal-Mart is there!

Luis, thanks for the reminder. But the poster's initials really are double K. I didn't intend an, um, editorial comment when I used them. But you're right, it might fit.

 

Cheers,

Iguazu is certainly stunning, and I would concur that it beats Niagara comprehensively, but I certainly wouldn't put it above Victoria. Aside from Victoria having far more water flowing in peak flow than Iguazu or Niagara (9.1 Million vs 6.5 vs 2.8), it just looks far bigger.

 

Since most people can't fly there conveniently - try looking on Google Earth. I looked at them all from eye altitude about 2km above the falls.

 

You can tell that Iguazu is much larger than Niagara in terms of area that water falls off, but there's very little question that Victoria wins it.

 

You need to be that high up just to fit most of Victoria and Iguazu - and in fact about 200m of Victoria on the western edge, including the 'Devil's Cataract', is blurred and still does not fit (a little on the East is also blurred). None the less, even with this portion missing it's clear that Victoria is the most impressive of these three (as wikipedia.com also suggests).

 

Iguazu is the widest, but it bends around islands and all of this distance is counted in it's official 2.7km width. Actually 'only' 1.8km of it's width allows water to fall. This makes it slightly wider than Victoria (1708m) but of course it's about 30% shorter...

Anyway, for you all to check out - here are co-ordinates:

NIAGARA:

43'04'48.96" N

79'04'20.53" W

IGUAZU:

25'41'28.24" S

54'26'20.84" W

VICTORIA:

17'55'28.80"S

25'51'24.44" E

 

and I suggest 7000 feet / just over 2km.