Visiting Puerto Iguazú, Argentina: Top Sights on Foot

The best things to do in Puerto Iguazú include visiting Iguaçu Falls, exploring Iguazú National Park and discovering the city’s small museums and religious landmarks. The destination is the Argentine gateway to one of the world’s most spectacular waterfall systems, surrounded by lush subtropical forest. Neywo offers a free audio guide for Puerto Iguazú with 7 narrated places, available in 11 languages.

What to see in Puerto Iguazú

Iguaçu Falls

Iguaçu Falls is the main reason many travellers visit Puerto Iguazú. The Iguazu River plunges over 275 separate drops along the border between Argentina and Brazil, creating the largest waterfall system in the world. Around 80% of the falls lie on the Argentine side.

The cascades flow over layers of volcanic basalt, whose uneven erosion formed the stepped landscape around the falls. The most dramatic section is Garganta del Diablo, or Devil’s Throat: an 82-metre-high chasm that can be viewed from walkways beginning at Puerto Canoas. The site is reached by an ecological train, and the viewing walkways come to within 50 metres of the chasm.

The falls also have a local origin story. According to legend, a deity wanted to marry a beautiful woman named Naipí, but she escaped by canoe with her mortal lover, Tarobá. In anger, the deity cut into the river, creating the falls and condemning the lovers to an endless descent.

Water levels can vary considerably. During a severe drought in southern Brazil in the summer of 2021, the flow at the falls dropped to about 20% of its normal volume.

Iguazú National Park

Iguazú National Park protects the falls and the surrounding subtropical forest in northeastern Argentina. It covers about 67,620 hectares, or roughly 677 square kilometres, and is managed together with the adjacent Iguazú Reserve by Argentina’s National Parks Administration.

The park was established on 9 October 1934 to protect both the waterfalls and the biodiversity of the forest. Its most famous attraction, Iguaçu Falls, was voted one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World in 2011.

The concessioned Área Cataratas del Parque Nacional Iguazú provides the main facilities for visitors exploring the falls. Beyond the viewpoints and walkways, the protected area is important for the forest environment in which the waterfall system is set.

Iguazú National Park World Heritage Site

Iguazú National Park is recognised as a World Heritage Site in Argentina. This designation reflects the importance of the protected area and its remarkable combination of powerful waterfalls and subtropical forest.

Museo Imágenes de la Selva

Museo Imágenes de la Selva is a museum in Puerto Iguazú. It adds a cultural stop to an itinerary otherwise dominated by the national park and its natural landscapes.

Cathedral of the Virgin of Carmen

The Cathedral of the Virgin of Carmen is a notable cathedral in Puerto Iguazú, in Misiones Province. It offers a different perspective on the city, away from the falls and the surrounding protected forest.

Casa Museo El Ángel de la Selva

Casa Museo El Ángel de la Selva is a house museum in Puerto Iguazú. Its domestic setting makes it distinct from the city’s cathedral and from the large natural attractions outside the urban centre.

Casa de las botellas

Casa de las botellas is another museum to visit in Puerto Iguazú. It completes the city’s collection of smaller cultural attractions, alongside Museo Imágenes de la Selva and Casa Museo El Ángel de la Selva.

Explore Puerto Iguazú with Neywo

Neywo’s free Puerto Iguazú audio guide includes 7 narrated places. Each story plays as you reach the place, at your own pace, with no group and no schedule. The narration is available in 11 languages, making it an easy way to explore the city independently while learning about the places along the way.

If you are planning a wider trip through Argentina, Puerto Iguazú can also be combined with destinations such as Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Mendoza or Salta.