Two days see both sides of the falls. The question is what to do with the third, and the answer is better than most people expect. Puerto Iguazu sits at the meeting point of three countries, on the edge of the Atlantic Forest, with Jesuit ruins to the south and the largest hydroelectric dam on the continent across the river. These are the excursions around Puerto Iguazu that we actually send travellers on, from a half-hour stop in town to a full day on the road.
By Romina, Iguazu Destination Expert at 01Argentina Travel Agency
Quick answer
Close to town, in half a day: the Guira Oga wildlife refuge, the hummingbird garden and the Three Borders landmark. Across the river in Brazil: the Bird Park and the Itaipu dam. Further out, a full day each: the Wanda mines to the south, and the Jesuit ruins of San Ignacio Mini, which are usually combined with Wanda on the same long day.
1. Guira Oga: the forest animals you did not see in the park
A few kilometres from the centre of Puerto Iguazu, on the road to the national park, Guira Oga is a refuge that takes in injured, orphaned and confiscated wild animals and, where it can, returns them to the forest. You visit on a guided walk through the trees, in a small group, and see the animals that live in the park but stay out of sight: toucans and macaws recovering from the pet trade, monkeys, deer, and the big cats and birds of prey that cannot be released. It is not a zoo, the guides are the people who do the work, and it is the best two hours for anyone who wanted more wildlife than the walkways gave them.
2. The hummingbird garden
In the town itself, a family garden has been planted and hung with feeders for years, and the hummingbirds come by the dozen: several species, a metre from your face, for as long as you care to stand there. It is a short visit and a very good one, especially for photographers and for children, and it fits into any gap in the day.
3. The Three Borders landmark
At the edge of town, where the Iguazu River flows into the Parana, a paved lookout faces the point where Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay meet. Each country has an obelisk painted in its colours; you see all three across the water. It is a half-hour stop, best in the late afternoon with the sun behind you, and it explains the geography of the whole region in one view.
4. The Bird Park, next to the Brazilian entrance
On the Brazilian side, beside the entrance to the national park, a large bird park keeps toucans, macaws, hummingbirds, flamingos and the harpy eagle in walk-through aviaries set in the forest. For many visitors it is the only place they see a toucan from two metres, and it slots into the Brazilian day without a detour. The border crossing is the same one you use for the Brazilian falls, so the paperwork is already handled.
5. Itaipu: the dam across the river
Built jointly by Brazil and Paraguay on the Parana, Itaipu is one of the largest hydroelectric plants in the world, and the scale of the thing is the attraction: a concrete wall more than seven kilometres long and a spillway that, when it is open, is its own waterfall. Tours run from the visitor centre on the Brazilian side, by bus along the top of the dam, with a technical version that goes inside the plant. It combines with the Brazilian falls or the Bird Park on the same day.
6. The Wanda mines
About forty kilometres south of Puerto Iguazu, beside the Parana, the mines at Wanda dig amethyst, agate, quartz and topaz out of the red earth, and you walk through the open workings with a guide who explains how the crystals form inside the basalt. The geodes, split open to show the purple inside, are the souvenir most people take home from Misiones. It is a half-day on its own, and the usual first stop on the road to San Ignacio.
7. San Ignacio Mini: the Jesuit ruins
Further south, about three hours from Puerto Iguazu, the ruins of San Ignacio Mini are the best preserved of the Jesuit missions of the region, a UNESCO World Heritage site where Jesuit priests and Guarani people built a town of stone and red sandstone in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. What remains is the church front, the square, the workshops and the rows of houses, with the forest growing back around them, and a small museum that explains how the missions worked and why they ended. It is a long day, done with Wanda on the way, and it is the one excursion that adds history to a trip that is otherwise all nature.
How to fit them into your days
- Two nights: Argentine side on day one, Brazilian side plus the Bird Park on day two. Guira Oga or the hummingbird garden fits into the afternoon you arrive.
- Three nights: add Wanda and San Ignacio as a full day, or Itaipu with the Brazilian side and a free half day in town.
- If you only have one extra half day: Guira Oga in the morning and the Three Borders at sunset. It is the most Iguazu you can get out of four hours.
All of these can be built into our Iguazu Falls tours with transfers and guides arranged, so the extra day is as easy as the two at the falls.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a passport for the Brazilian excursions?
Yes, for the Bird Park and Itaipu as for the Brazilian falls: they are across the border. Whether you need a visa depends on your nationality; tell us when you book and we tell you what we know.
Is San Ignacio worth the long day?
If history interests you, yes: it is the best preserved mission in Argentina and a World Heritage site. If your time is short and you came for nature, Guira Oga and the Bird Park give you more for less driving.
Can children do these excursions?
All of them. The hummingbird garden, Guira Oga and the Bird Park are the family favourites; San Ignacio is a lot of car for small children.
Give Iguazu a third day
Most travellers who add a night do not regret it. For the two days at the falls themselves, start with our complete guide to the Gran Aventura boat ride, the excursion inside the park that nobody should skip.
Plan your excursions with our local team and explore Iguazu Falls tours at www.01argentina.com — WhatsApp available for a fast response, typically within 24 hours.