Renowned Spanish explorer Don Alvar Nunes Cabeza de Vaca was the first European to encounter the vast roaring cataracts of Iguazu, or "big water," the name given it by the native peoples of this subtropical forest region. Located in the northeast corner of Argentina, near the borders of Paraguay and Brazil, Iguazu National Park features a 2.7-km crescent-shaped front over which pour the waters of the mighty Iguazu River. Flows range up to 6,500 cubic metres per second, plunging through a series of sheer cataracts interspersed with moist forested islands at the lip of the abyss. Below the broad fan of the falls the river surges through a deep, narrow canyon, perpetually clouded by the mist and spray thrown off by the falls.

The 49,200 hectares of the national park encompass subtropical wet forests rich in bamboos, lianas, epiphytes, orchids, tall canopy trees, and some 2,000 other plant species. Wildlife includes 44% of the birds of Argentina, numbering 422 species, together with giant otter, jaguar, ocelot, capuchin monkey, giant anteater, coati, and tapir.

Activities include viewing Iguazu Falls, canoeing and kayaking the Iguazu River, fishing, and wildlife observation.

• Visit the many historic Jesuit missions that dot the region.
• Stroll the pathways through the eternal mist of Iguazu Falls, amid the deafening roar of a 2.7-km cascade front.
• Kayak the reaches of the Iguazu River above the falls, watching for spectacled caiman, giant otter, and the 422 species of birds seen within the subtropical wet forests of the park.

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