Iguazu Falls is one of the planet’s most awe-inspiring natural wonders. Situated in the heart of a verdant rainforest and featuring hundreds of cascades, the falls are global treasure and one of the top places to visit in South America.

Visiting Iguazu Falls is a jaw-dropping visceral experience. It is a sensory overload—engaging, in equal measure, all five of the senses.

I traveled to Iguazu Falls as part of a backpacking trip to Patagonia and Buenos Aires. Visiting Iguazu Falls was never part of the original plan. I had originally hoped to take a day trip from Buenos Aires to Colonia del Sacramento. At the last minute though, realizing the ferry from Buenos Aires was full for the Carneval weekend, I decided to visit Iguazu Falls instead.

It was an excellent choice.

Iguazu Falls: Wonder of the Natural World

Iguazu Falls is the world’s second largest waterfall and one of South America‘s greatest natural wonders. Stretching 2.7km across dense jungle, Iguazu is actually a chain of hundreds of waterfalls–some dainty rivulets and some roaring cascades–that plunge into the murky waters of the Rio Paraná.

Like its African rival, Victoria Falls, Iguazu has wowed travelers, photographers and storytellers alike with its thunderous cascades and its lush jungle setting.

Iguazu Falls: Brazil Side vs Argentina Side

Iguazu Falls is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that lies between Brazil and Argentina. Due to high entry costs and visa fees, many travelers visiting Iguazu Falls choose to view the natural wonder from one side of the border or the other. The Brazil vs Argentina debate has become a heated topic of discussion among visitors to the falls and is the subject of countless blog posts and internet forums.

Yet, after choosing to see only the Zambian side of Victoria Falls and then later regretting my decision to skip its Zimbabwean counterpart, I promised myself I wouldn’t make the same mistake when visiting Iguazu Falls.

So I chose to spend two full days touring Iguazu,  and dedicated one to each side of the park.

Iguazu Falls Argentina Side

I spent my first day at Iguazu Falls exploring the Argentine side of the Paraná River. The Argentine side is characterized by an extensive network of trails and boardwalks that take visitors above, below and in front of the waterfall. The trails and footpaths allow tourists to get up close to the curtain of water and to see both its thundering power and its delicate beauty from a variety of perspectives.

For much of the day, I meandered along the various trails, through dense forests teeming with beautiful birds, butterflies and woodland creatures. The park’s lush, tropical forest is a haven for more than 2,000 plant species, 400 types of birds, 80 types of mammals and countless insect and reptile species. As I explored the various corners of the park, colorful birds flew overhead, swarms of butterflies darted amongst the trees and aggressive coatis scavenged for food.

Visiting the Argentine side of the park took the entire day–partly because the network of trails was so extensive and and partly because the holiday weekend crowds clogged the park’s pathways and caused traffic jams at the viewpoints.

Due to high water levels during my visit, trails around Isla San Martin were closed and blocked off. Yet, between the upper trail, the lower trail and Devil’s Throat, there was plenty to see to keep me entertained for the day.

Devil’s Throat is the tallest waterfall in the park, as well as its grandest. The thundering sheet of water drops more than 80 meters over cliffs, crashing into the murky, chocolate-colored waters of the Rio Paraná with a deafening roar.

To reach Devil’s Throat, most visitors take the complementary park train to a boardwalk and then continue for one kilometer along the wooden planks to the lip of the waterfall. Since lines at the train stations were so long when I visited, I chose instead to walk on the path alongside the tracks. The sweltering heat, along with the lack of shade on the trail, ensured that I was exhausted when I reached the boardwalk.

Yet, as I walked along the wooden platforms and neared Devil’s Throat, showers of mist provided me with the relief I needed from the relentless sun of the tropics. The sprays of water drenched my sweaty body from head to toe, soaking me to the core and wiping away the rivulets of sweat that had formed down my back and neck.

By the time I left Devil’s Throat and headed toward the park’s exit, I felt refreshed, reenergized and rejuvenated by the power of the falls.

Iguazu Falls Brazil Side

The next morning, I took the bus from Puerto Iguazu, across the border, to the Brazilian side of the park. My possession of an Italian passport allowed me to cross the border painlessly and without the hassle of obtaining a visa. Within an hour, I had made it door to door, from my hostel to the park’s entrance.

A common sentiment among travelers is that, while Argentina has the falls, Brazil has the views. And I found this assertion to be mostly true. Argentina contains nearly 80 percent of the waterfall, in addition the miles upon miles of trails and boardwalks that allow visitors to explore the cascades from every angle imaginable.

But the panoramas from Brazil—though fewer—are unobstructed and virtually unparalleled.

The short trails on the Brazilian side of the falls afforded me picture perfect postcard-views of the 275 waterfalls that tumble over mist-shrouded pillows of green forest.

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Visitors convinced that a waterfall is a waterfall is a waterfall, will likely be blown away by the sheer volume of water that pours over the cliffs of Iguazu Falls. They will be awestruck by the gushing streams of water–some gentle trickles, some thunderous cascades–that, together, offer not only a visual experience, but also an auditory and sensory one.

I spent about two hours walking along the boardwalks, admiring the thundering water, snapping pictures of my surroundings and letting my senses be overwhelmed by the fury of the falls.

As with my visit to Victoria Falls, clouds of soaring mist painted the landscape in a hazy grey hue and muted the colors in my photographs. Thus, the pictures I took of the natural wonder do no justice to Iguazu’s scale and magnificence.

As I stepped into the spray of the waterfall and let myself be enveloped by its mist-raining glory, I couldn’t help but wonder why I’d ever questioned visiting Iguazu Falls before returning home. And I couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of happiness that I listened to my travel-obsessed heart, heeded Dan’s advice and continued my South American adventure for one final and epic hurrah.

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The post Visiting Iguazu Falls: Brazil and Argentina appeared first on Erika's Travels .

“Well there aren’t many things to see in Sao Paulo,” I would hear over and over again when when I asked my fellow flight attendants what to do and see in Brazil’s largest city, “but you can go to the Havaiana’s store and do some shopping. Or you can hang out by the hotel pool.”

So for someone who has a particularly strong aversion to shopping and cannot imagine hanging around the hotel when visiting a brand new city, Sao Paulo didn’t seem—at least on the surface—to be a particularly full of things to see.

What, Exactly, is there to See and Do in Sao Paulo?

Internet searches for things to see and do in Sao Paulo didn’t give me many ideas either. Even the employees working the hotel’s concierge desk echoed the voices and opinions of my fellow flight attendants. There is a historic district in the center, I was told, but it is not a particularly good place to visit. And besides, there isn’t exactly anything there.

Yet, as often as I was told that Sao Paulo didn’t have much to offer tourists, I couldn’t find it in me to accept that Brazil’s largest city was devoid of places to visit.

So, as soon as I changed out of my uniform and into comfortable walking shoes, I took a map from the hotel and began heading toward the city center. I decided to explore Sao Paulo on foot and try to uncover some of the city’s gems on my own.

Admire Sao Paulo’s Cathedrals

I began my tour of the city by walking the length of Avenida Paulista toward the Church of Consolacao—a beautiful cathedral with a particularly stunning interior.

As I studied my map in order to determine my route to the historic center from the Church of Consolacao, a Polish woman approached me and asked for directions. She wanted to visit the city center too, but had no map or sense of orientation. She asked if she could join me and I agreed. 

The two of us walked together toward the famous Cathedral da Se in relative silence, stopping for pictures every so often.“Amaaaaaaazing” my Polish friend would say, ever time we passed by a crumbling colonial building, a colorful mural or a flowering tree. “This is just amaaaaazing.”

With the help of my new companion’s enthusiasm, I began to look behind the brash exterior of the world’s third largest city. Behind the layer of grime, I could see beautiful architecture waiting to be restored. Sao Paulo is home to a surprising number of colonial gems, including statues and plazas, an ornately decorated opera house and the grandiose Cathedral da Se.

I found myself slowly falling for the chaotic and congested city.

Learn about the Different Cultures that Live in Sao Paulo

While Sao Paulo lacks the picturesque beauty of so many other great cities, it makes up for its lack of eye-catching charm with its dynamic cultural milieu.

Sao Paulo has a large population of Italian, Japanese, German, Spanish and Portuguese immigrants, as well as a significant number of descendants from African slaves. It has the kind of eclectic and diverse mix of people that one would expect to find in cities like New York or Dubai. More than 100 ethnic groups–hailing from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East–are represented within the city limits. In fact, Sao Paulo is home to the world’s second largest Japanese population outside of Japan and contains more Italian descendants than Rome.

And everything from the city’s architecture to its cuisine reflects Sao Paulo’s position as a cultural crossroads. From its fine Italian restaurants to its reggae street performers and from its ethnic neighborhoods to its modern skyscrapers, Sao Paulo is a blend of North and South, East and West.

Like many other large cities, Sao Paulo suffers from extreme wealth inequality. The city’s busy streets flood with businessmen in crisp suits and ties, while beggars and panhandlers line the sidewalks and fill the city parks. As a result of the inequality, Sao Paulo has been known as a hotbed of petty crime. Perhaps that is part of the reason flight attendants and even the concierge desk were so wary of suggesting things to do and see within the city’s core.

Yet I found that, with a vigilant eye and awareness of one’s surroundings, Sao Paulo can be an exciting city to explore. It is a dynamic and vibrant tangle of concrete,  where people are just doing what they can to eke out a living and survive.

Stroll through Ibirapuera Park

The following morning, before my flight back to New York, I escaped the concrete chaos of Sao Paulo and wandered down the hill from my hotel to Ibirapuera Park–one of South America‘s largest urban green spaces.

Ibirapuera Park is one of Brazil’s greatest landmarks. The park is replete with things to see and do–from admiring the iconic Bandieras Monument, to strolling down a secluded path, to picnicking in the park.

For about an hour, I meandered through groves of banyan trees, around lakes with fountains and past grassy fields. I saw families and lovers biking along the paths, children playing soccer and badminton, and even a few people doing tai chi.

Ibirapuera Park was a far cry from the rest of Sao Paulo and, had it not been for the towering skyscrapers still visible in the distance, I would have felt as though I had escaped the city altogether.

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Truth is, the flight attendants were partially right.

Sao Paulo is not a glamorous city. Nor does it have the classic beauty of places like Paris, Venice or Cape Town. Instead, Sao Paulo is grimy and sometimes dirty. It is old and crumbling and chaotic. I can see why Sao Paulo does not necessarily entice visitors to fall in love at first sight. 

Sao Paulo may not be at the top of every travelers agenda, but it is surely worth a few days’ visit on a trip to Brazil. For, behind the layer of grime, a beautiful, crumbling city is waiting to be explored.

I’m glad that I was able to visit Sao Paulo on layover, since I would not likely have chosen to visit the city on my own.

And now, if fellow flight attendants ever approaches me looking for suggestions on what to see or do in South America’s largest city, I’ll be sure they know that lounging by the pool and buying flip flops are not their only options.

The post Behind Sao Paulo’s Grungy Exterior appeared first on Erika's Travels .