"According to Brazilian sources, Iguaçu is the world's largest waterfalls. Although challenging to get to and see, the Falls are truly magnificent! Iguaçu is much larger than Niagara, and is said to be taller than Angel Falls in Venezuela. The falls are inland on the Argentina/Brazil border.
"After a quiet, security-conscious day and night in Rio (we had an earlier bad experience there), we flew the next morning via San Paulo to the city of Foz do Iguaçu, where we were taken by bus to the Iguaçu Falls National Park. The flights, on Varig, the Brazilian airline, were delightful. Attractive, sharp, well-dressed and -groomed flight attendants. Fast, cheerful service. Quick turn-arounds in San Paulo. The stewardesses served drinks and a snack on the forty-five minute flight to San Paulo, and lunch and drinks on the one hour flight from there to Foz do Iguaçu! Remember how nice air travel used to be in the U.S.? How special it seemed? In Brazil, [at least this time] it still is.
"Viewing Iguaçu Falls requires a lot of walking and climbing, some of it challenging. The first day, we went by bus, jeep and, after a somewhat treacherous climb on steep, un-guard-railed stairs, took a zodiac boat up the river right to the base of the falls, getting wet but not soaked. Another, more daring group went right under part of the falls, but it appeared they were prepared, having stripped to the waist or to bikini tops.
"After a good meal and a night on hard beds in the Spanish Colonial style hotel in the park, in the morning we crossed the Argentine border by bus, where we caught two trains and then took a long hike to the catwalks which extend out over the river 1100 meters to the very edge of the most dramatic part of Iguaçu Falls, the Devil's Throat. This is a horseshoe shaped section which appeared to be 400 or 500 yards across and perhaps half a mile in length. What a marvelous sight! On the way, we passed the "ruins" of the old catwalk, which collapsed a couple of years earlier. Ah, well."