On this day we started with Patricia (our driver from the previous day) picking us at 10am. Getting across the border was very straightforward on the Argentina side and a bit more tedious on the Brazil side. She had filled out the paperwork ahead of time so we sailed through the Argentine checkpoint. In Brazil we had to park in a cramped lot and get out of the car to go into an office and wait for an agent to stamp our passport. It was fairly quick on the way in and less so on the way out due to only one agent working and a couple with two babies who seemed to not have had proper documents… When we left that office, a huge bus load of people were waiting behind us outside in the heat!
This part of Brazil definitely felt different than the quieter Argentinian side. The roadside felt rather Floridian, with more developed land with resorts, corporate buildings, farms, and much less forest. The dirt is extremely red!
Our visit to the Brazilian side of the falls was a bit like a Disney experience. As with the Argentina park, I bought our tickets online in advance so we scanned in with our 11am grouping and immediately boarded a bus. There is a lot less signage than on the Argentinian side which instead was covered by the on-bus announcements. More than a few people seemed confused as to why they were boarding a bus – that is because the park entrance in miles from the trails and falls. Then, after about 5 minutes the bus just stopped at the side of the road. Eventually, we all had to disembark and board another bus, and unfortunately, we did not get the “sun-free” side this time and the bus was not air-conditioned. On the way back we had an open air option on the top level, so we took that for some breeze!
It’s about a 20 minute slow drive to the start of the waterfall hike, with two stops along the way for paid experiences and other hiking options. The main trail, a one mile, one-way walk south with views of various falls along most of the route, started at the third stop (the hotel).
And we got to see some coatí!
It was very crowded while we were there and there is only one path, so not a ton of room to spread out.
We still managed to get some great shots and seeing the falls from both sides was definitely a worthwhile experience. Thankfully, even close to noon, there were some shady spots to stand.
Additionally, similar to the Argentina side, we did not see a lot of insects. I had brought bug spray but this was a welcome surprise. Ultimately there isn’t as much hiking to do on this side but there are still some great views and we think it was worth the trek across the border. Definitely bring water – it was 90+, and the two of us easily finished off a 2-liter bottle of water in the two hours we were hiking here.