Iguazu Falls: Argentina or Brazil?

Last Updated on August 29, 2019 by Adam Watts

Let me help you decide. Iguazu Falls: Argentina or Brazil?

Brazil or Argentina. It’s the age-old debate. When it comes to football, I’m not picking a horse, mainly because horses have nothing to do with football. But when deciding whether you should visit the Argentine or Brazilian side of Iguazu Falls, I won’t sit on the fence. I tried, but all the fences I tried were pointy, rusty, or gave me a splinter. So I took the hint and made a decision.

Unlike all of these people who visited Iguazu Falls who could not make this decision, I won’t just say “OH MY GOD, you just, like, totally have to visit them both, they’re so amazing but so different, you just must visit them both!!”

But I get it. Maybe you only have one day at Iguazu Falls and you need someone to help you pick. Let me be that someone. So, Iguazu Falls: Argentina or Brazil? My answer is…

Brargentina.

Sorry. Brain fart. I’ll try again. Iguazu Falls: Argentina or Brazil? My answer is:

Argenzil.

Damn it, why is this so hard? Sorry, friends, both sides are beautiful, offer very different perspectives, and I’d strongly recommend sacrificing that fourth day in Buenos Aires to spend a second day here. You really don’t need another steak, and you can skip that walk around the Palermo neighborhood.

Why are you still reading this? I gave you an answer. I told you to do both sides at all costs. If it’s literally a question of cost, auction your left kidney on the Argentine black market to fund another night’s hotel stay. Just rearrange your itinerary already. You need to venture across the border and see both, you really do. Yet you’re still reading, and I’m still writing, so we might as well try this another way.

Best for photography? Argentina, by a sliver. There’s more overall to see on the Argentina side, and therefore more angles and perspectives to get creative with your framings and mise-en-scène and all that jazz. But the Brazil side lets you see more of the waterfall system as a whole, so it’s really hard to pick. For the best photos of mine from Iguazu Falls, click here.

Best for adrenaline junkies? Brazil, since it offers the only helicopter ride over the falls, which is worth 1000 points and negates everything else great about the Argentina side. Both sides offer boat trips into and underneath the falls, which is fun if your idea of a good time is to feel like you’re drowning for a micro-second at a time.

Best for trail-walking? Argentina. The Argentina side has three main trails, the Devil’s Throat trail and the creatively-named Upper and Lower Circuits, all of which offer distinctive views and experiences. In contrast, the Brazil side has only one trail.

Best tourist facilities? If you’re making a decision about which side of the Falls to visit based on how comfortable a shit you’ll take, I don’t envy your life. (But the answer is the Argentina side.)

Summary over. One last time, then, Iguazu Falls: Argentina or Brazil? My answer is:

BRAZIL.

Whew, that was hard. But there, I did it. I made the decision for you.

The Brazil side of Iguazu Falls offers a helicopter ride which is expensive but out of this world amazing. If you don’t want to do that, I’d go with the Argentina side, which offers more overall.

To use a football analogy, the Argentina side is like the Brazil team down the years: bar a few freak occasions, Brazil are the perennial entertainers, guaranteed to provide good value for money. That’s the Argentina side. But the Brazil side is like the Argentina football team: also really good, but less flashy unless you get a game where Messi is scoring a hat-trick (i.e. the helicopter ride).

So there you have it, folks. Splurge on the helicopter ride, visit the Brazil side. No helicopter ride, visit the Argentina side. Now please don’t message me and ask for advice about what to do if you only have three hours at Iguazu. There is no reason on earth you can’t spend at least a full day at one of the most amazing places on the planet. Jesus, sort your life out.