The first place we traveled to in Brazil was the city of Foz de Iguaçu, just beyond the border with Paraguay. In fact, this journey for us was not only a city visit or a short border crossing. Crossing from Paraguay to the Brazilian side was, for us, the first step toward a new country, a new atmosphere and a great natural wonder that we had wanted to see for a long time. The moment we crossed the border and reached the Brazilian side, a light but clear excitement began inside us. The city did not seem like a very large, complicated or surprising place at first glance. But for us it had great meaning. Because this was the first city we saw in Brazil and the place this city would take us to was one of the most impressive natural landscapes in the world: Iguazu Falls.
When going to Foz de Iguaçu, our real goal was clear. More than seeing the city, we wanted to visit the Brazilian side of Iguazu Falls. The falls can be visited from both Brazil and Argentina. Before going, we had read comments. We had learned that the Argentine side offered walking trails closer to the falls, while the Brazilian side offered a wider, more panoramic view and an angle that lets you feel the whole landscape at a single glance. Since on our first visit we wanted to see this great natural stage from the front and with all its majesty, we chose the Brazilian side. Later we understood that this decision had truly been the right beginning for us.
If you are curious about the story behind this journey, who we are and how we set out on the roads in South America, you can also take a look at our about us page.
Our first arrival in Foz de Iguaçu
Foz de Iguaçu is located in the state of Paraná in Brazil, very close to the borders of Paraguay and Argentina. For this reason, the city is situated in a special region where three countries of South America come close to one another. Since we came from Paraguay, this crossing was even more meaningful for us. It was as if a completely different door had opened right beside the geography where we were living. On one side was our daily life in Paraguay, on the other side the tropical air of Brazil, and in front of us there was an enormous natural wonder waiting for us.
Although the city did not seem very large, that day it was the starting point of everything for us. The excitement inside us, in fact, was related more to the waterfalls we would reach from there than to the streets of Foz de Iguaçu. There are some places that create a great expectation inside a person even before going there. Iguazu Falls was exactly such a place for us. We had seen its photographs, watched its videos and read what had been written about it. But still, one knows that no matter how impressive some natural phenomena look on a screen, they only show their true effect when you are there and see them with your own eyes.
The National Park entrance and the wait
To reach Iguazu Falls, we first arrived at the entrance of Parque Nacional do Iguaçu. Even at the entrance gate, we felt how touristic and crowded the atmosphere was. People from different parts of the world, with cameras in their hands and backpacks on their backs, were standing in line with the same excitement. We also started waiting to buy tickets. The line was quite long. On one side there was heat, on another there was the crowd, and on another there was our inner impatience. But strangely, even this waiting felt like a part of the journey. Because we knew where we were going.
After buying our tickets, this time we got into the bus line. On the Brazilian side, visitors are taken by special buses from the park entrance to the point where the waterfall walking trail begins. This bus ride lasts about half an hour. After the bus started moving, the city atmosphere slowly stayed behind. Around us the greenery increased, the road became calmer and we began to feel that we were moving into nature. At that moment we still did not see the waterfalls, but we knew that we were getting closer. And that increased the excitement even more.
The sound of the waterfall comes first
When we got off the bus, the first thing that welcomed us was not the image, but the sound. The waterfalls were not yet visible in all their clarity, but a strong roar was coming from afar. This sound was not an ordinary sound of water. It was like a great breath rising from the depths of the forest and echoing inside the whole valley. Before fully seeing the landscape, we had already understood that there was a great force of nature in front of us.
When we started the walking path, the landscape began to open slowly. First, in the distance, we saw waters falling like white lines among the green forest. Even at first glance it was impressive. But what was truly fascinating was that the landscape did not reveal itself all at once, but step by step. As we walked, at every new angle we reached, the waterfall became a little bigger, a little wider and a little more majestic.
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This landscape that we first watched from far away transformed into something completely different as we walked. Because Iguazu is not a classic waterfall flowing from a single point. Here, water falls at the same time from many different places in nature. When you look ahead, you do not see only a curtain of water; you see almost the whole horizon turning into water. Everywhere your eyes can reach, there is a world of water that moves, roars, foams and forms mist.
Everywhere our eyes could reach was waterfall
As we moved along the walking path, the landscape changed constantly. At every turn another angle appeared, at every stop another beauty came before us. At one point we thought, “this must be the most beautiful place”; a few minutes later we reached an even more impressive point. Then we thought the same thing again and again encountered a larger landscape. One of the most beautiful parts of Iguazu was exactly this: it does not show itself all at once, it opens step by step. A person becomes a little more impressed with every step.
We had seen waterfalls in different places before. But Iguazu was truly a completely different experience. Here, a person is not only looking at water falling from a height. Here, you feel at the same time the power of the water, its sound, its vapor, the forest surrounding it, the flow of the river and the light of the sky. After a while, the waterfall stops being only a landscape seen with the eyes; it turns into something you feel physically. The small drops of water reaching your face, the humidity in the air, the roar filling your ears and the enormous image stretching before you all work together.
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During this walk we constantly stopped and took photographs. But no matter how many photos we took, we also knew that it was not possible to fully preserve that moment. Because a photograph cannot tell the sound of the water. A photograph cannot fully convey that feeling of becoming small that forms inside a person in front of the waterfall. Still, every frame was very valuable to us. Because each one was a part of the surprise and happiness we experienced there together that day.
As the landscape opened, the majesty of nature grew
The walking path on the Brazilian side of Iguazu Falls offers a very impressive arrangement for watching the landscape. Along the way, you see the waterfalls from different angles. The waters that are first seen from far away, after a while, turn into a wider picture. Then the sound of the waterfall increases even more, the mist rises and the river begins to look stronger. With every step, the landscape becomes a little deeper.
For us, this gradual opening was very impressive. Because the waterfall did not suddenly appear before us. First we heard its sound, then we saw the white curtains of water in the distance, then we realized through the mist that it was part of an enormous system. And in the end, it was before us with all its majesty. At that moment, a person does not have many words left to say. One only looks and remembers again how great nature is.
The moment we approached the rainbow
Toward the end of the walk, while approaching the walkway extending into the waterfall, a rainbow appeared in the middle of the landscape. In fact, seeing a rainbow in a place like this is not surprising. Because water vapor and sunlight constantly come together. But seeing it with your own eyes, in front of enormous waterfalls, is a completely different feeling. The rainbow was like a thin, colorful bridge built over the waterfall.
That moment was one of the most special moments of the trip for us. The water was flowing with all its force, the mist was rising into the air, sunlight was passing through that mist and that colorful image was appearing. As we walked toward the walkway, it seemed as if the rainbow was moving together with us. Sometimes it became clearer, sometimes it slightly disappeared into the mist and then appeared again.
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Being so close to the rainbow, taking photographs with it and seeing the enormous waterfalls flowing behind it truly impressed us. Some landscapes give a person admiration, some give peace, and some awaken a childlike joy inside a person. The rainbow at Iguazu was exactly like that for us. In the middle of such a great force of nature, among all that sound and water, there was a colorful, delicate and almost fairy-tale-like image.
The walkway extending into the waterfall
One of the most impressive points on the Brazilian side was the walking walkway extending into the waterfall. When you approach this walkway, you are no longer only watching the waterfall from afar; you almost enter into it. The water vapor becomes more intense, droplets come onto you with the wind, and within a few minutes you notice that your clothes have become wet.
In this section, the sound of the waterfall was now even stronger. Even if you spoke, it felt as if your voice was getting lost inside the roar of the water. Here, a person becomes quieter. Because sometimes, instead of trying to describe a landscape, it feels more correct to remain silent in front of it. As we walked on that walkway, we also tried to take photographs and at the same time experienced the astonishment of being inside this great natural event.
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What a person feels on the walkway is not only beauty; at the same time it is the feeling of smallness in the face of the power of nature. Below, the river flows at great speed, enormous masses of water fall from above, the mist covers everything around and the light changes constantly… In the middle of all this, a person feels both very small and very lucky to witness such a moment.
Standing across from the Devil’s Throat
At the end of the walking path, in the section that goes upward, there are elevators and viewing areas. From here, the landscape takes on a wider form. At the same time, this point is across from one of the most famous sections on the Argentine side, Garganta del Diablo, that is, the Devil’s Throat.
When you look from the Brazilian side, you can see the platforms on the Argentine side, the visitors there and even the Argentine flag. This image made us feel that Iguazu is not a beauty belonging only to one country. There are borders on the map, but the sound of water does not recognize borders. The mist spreads to both sides. The rainbow falls over both countries. Nature creates a unity far beyond the borders drawn by people.
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When we stood at that point and looked across, we actually saw the common astonishment of people looking at two different faces of the same natural wonder. There were us looking from the Brazilian side, the visitors coming from the Argentine side, and between us there was a huge mass of water flowing constantly. That moment was one of the strongest and most unforgettable images South America offered us.
The upper rest area and the last look
After seeing the most intense part of the waterfall, we went up to the upper area. There are restaurants, seating areas and rest points here. Throughout the walk, a person constantly stops, looks, takes photographs, walks again and is amazed again. That is why when you go up, sitting a little and watching the landscape more calmly feels good.
While resting there, the sound of the waterfall was still in our ears. Below, the walkway we had just walked on was disappearing into the mist; on the other side, the Argentine section was still visible. Before leaving from there, a person wants to turn back and look one last time. Because it is not easy to leave some places. Iguazu was such a place for us. It was as if we wanted to satisfy our eyes a little more and engrave the landscape a little more into our memory.
After Iguazu, our perception of waterfalls changed
After completing our visit, we returned again to the park entrance by buses. Physically, we were returning to the point where we had started, but something inside us had changed. Because some landscapes do not leave only a beautiful travel memory; they change a person’s measure, expectation and way of looking. Iguazu Falls became exactly such a place for us.
Before going there, when we said “waterfall,” a more limited image came to our minds. Water falling from a rock, a beautiful natural landscape, cool air, a few photographs… But after seeing Iguazu, the meaning of this word grew for us. Now, when we say waterfall, an enormous natural stage comes to our minds where water flows everywhere the eye can reach, where the sound fills the whole valley, where the mist rises to the sky and where the rainbow spreads over the water.
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For this reason, after Iguazu, when a person looks at another waterfall, one inevitably makes a comparison. Of course, every natural landscape has its own beauty. But the effect left by Iguazu is very different. Here, nature is not only beautiful; at the same time it is strong, majestic, loud, alive and like a presence that draws the person in. You do not only see the waterfall; you walk inside it, hear its sound, get wet with its vapor and approach the rainbow formed in its light.
If you want to read our other city, road and nature experiences in South America, like our Foz de Iguaçu trip, you can also look at the other travel writings on our blog page.
What was Foz de Iguaçu for us?
Foz de Iguaçu was our first stop in Brazil. Maybe as a city it was not very large or complicated, but it had a special place in our journey. Because this city took us to Iguazu Falls. Leaving Paraguay and crossing to the Brazilian side, encountering such a great natural wonder just beyond the border, was unforgettable for us.
This trip did not leave us only beautiful photographs. At the same time, it reminded us of the greatness of nature, the power of water, the existence of a shared beauty beyond borders and the fact that some landscapes remain inside a person for a long time. The day we saw Iguazu Falls became one of the most special moments of our South America journey. That day we did not only see a waterfall. We entered an enormous stage built together by water, light, mist, forest and rainbow.
As we left there, there was one single thought in our minds: Some places are not told, they are lived. But Iguazu, after being lived, also makes one want to tell it at length. Because after seeing a landscape like this, a person needs not only photographs, but also words. One wants to remember again that sound, that vapor, that rainbow, that walk and that astonishment. For us, Iguazu Falls remained exactly such a place: an unforgettable journey that changed our perception of waterfalls, made us experience our first great excitement in Brazil and settled into a very special place in our memory.
If you want to see more of our journey through South America and the story of two hearts on wheels, you can visit our home page.