At mighty Iguaçu Falls, Brazil & Argentina share the glory

[Iberia Airlines]

What’s it like to be in the presence of the world’s largest waterfalls system? Well, in three words: wet, wild, and wonderful. These wonders of nature formed as the Iguazú River hurtles off the Paraná Plateau in the form of hundreds of waterfalls, at a rate of 1,500 square metres (gallons) per second, mark the local border between Argentina’s Misiones state and Brazil’s Paraná state (with Paraguay’s Ciudad del Este right nearby, as well). And let me tell you, these pictures don’t even do them justice – Iguazú Falls are totally a UNESCO World Heritage bucket-lister if ever there was one.

Their name taken from the language of the Guaraní peoples who lived here for centuries (meaning “large water”), and discovered by Spanish conquistadores in 1452, this string of falls stretches for 2/7 kilometres (more than 1½ miles). The main drop, known as Garganta del Diablo (Devil’s Throat), is 80 m (ft) high, with a perpetual rainbow (if viewed from the Brazil side) from all the water spray perpetually suspended in the air.

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