Roaring splendor at Iguacu Falls

Adrenaline coursed through my body as we approached Devil’s Throat, the roar of the waterfall drowning out any conversation softer than a shout. Raincoats couldn’t keep our faces and hands from getting drenched by the cloud of spray rising from almost 300 feet below. I clung to the catwalk railing and watched the torrential Iguacu River rush over a plateau and disappear into an abyss.

Devil’s Throat is the largest of about 275 waterfalls that constitute Iguacu Falls. Taller than Niagara Falls and four times as wide, Iguacu spans almost three miles of a crescent-shaped cliff on the Argentina-Brazil border.

Here, after a 745-mile journey across southern Brazil, the Rio Iguacu tumbles off basalt cliffs formed more than 140 million years ago. It’s a spot that played prominently in “The Mission,” the 1986 film with Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons about 18th century missionaries and the aboriginal Guarani.

My interest in Iguacu dates to long before the war in Iraq and subsequent tensions in Europe made South America an alternative destination for some American travelers. Since seeing “The Mission,” I had yearned to experience this wonder in person. I finally visited last July as a side trip from Buenos Aires, breaking away from Argentina’s capital to see the falls that the Guarani named Iguacu after their phrase for “big water.”

It’s a moniker that many, including Eleanor Roosevelt, have found appropriate. While researching the trip, I came across articles about the first lady’s visit; she supposedly said that Iguacu’s grandeur made Niagara look like a kitchen faucet.

I had to agree. Though the volume of water at Niagara is larger, Iguacu is more glorious. The verdant setting showcases the power and beauty of the river as it tumbles over the falls’ rocky, tiered ledges. Iguacu also feels less commercial -- a subtropical corner that seems to invite discovery rather than simply enduring it.

I arrived with my husband, Larry, and our children, Justus, 18, and Trinity, 21, after the November-through-March rainy season and the floods that may follow. In the dry season, the number of falls can drop to 150 and the flow of water can diminish by half, but the catwalks and hiking paths providing the best views aren’t flooded, allowing visitors to get closer to the falls.

We flew to the nearby town of Puerto Iguazu and met Stefi, a guide arranged by our travel agent. She took us by minivan to the Sheraton Internacional Iguazu. It’s the only hotel within walking distance of the waterfalls on the Argentine side.

About 75% of the falls are in Argentina, part of Iguazu National Park. (The name spelling differs here because Spanish is the official language of Argentina, whereas Portuguese is the language of Brazil.) The Argentine side is spectacular because one can hike over, under and through the cascading water. The Brazilian side, where the falls lie inside Iguacu National Park, affords the best views.

We chose to start in Argentina, then move on to Brazil because Stefi said lighting for photographs would be better.

After we checked into the hotel, she guided us to the Iguazu National Park visitor center. We caught a park tram to the trail head for Devil’s Throat and eagerly hiked the long catwalk over the Iguacu River toward the roaring water. We heard the falls long before we saw them, the torrent as loud as jets on takeoff.

After the thrill of the big falls, we took the tram to the Green Path. It led us higher, reaching another catwalk over a delta and a long fringe of sparkling falls that reminded me of a diamond necklace. The river was shades of blue and gray, and rainbows shimmered in every direction.

We took turns with our cameras, shooting what each of us kept insisting was “the most beautiful rainbow I have ever seen.” When we had gone through two rolls of “most beautiful” rainbows, we realized we might not see as many arcs in one place again.

Boats crammed with passengers cruised below. Some gained speed and charged the falls, getting so close that passengers surely were soaked.

“Cool!” Justus said. “I want to do that.”

We were getting wet too, mist coating our skin and spray landing on our tongues. We continued along a narrow path through a forest of vivid greens. Begonias, orchids and bromeliads in exotic colors grew alongside ferns. The jungle’s peace and quiet were interrupted only by loud, staccato cries. A capuchin monkey, 10 inches tall at best, cowered on a high tree branch.

“It sounds terrified,” I said.

Hikers peered into the forest canopy. As the baby monkey screeched, I sensed movement to my right. The mother monkey rushed toward us on the path’s handrail. I will never forget the determination on her face. Hand over hand, mother raced along the railing and leaped into the tree toward her child. Within seconds the baby was safely on its mother’s back.

Spectators burst into applause, but the drama wasn’t over. The mother monkey tentatively moved toward a flimsy branch that hung over the rushing river. “No!” several people called out, fearing it would fall.

The capuchin retreated to the tree trunk, and we breathed a sigh of relief. We didn’t know the animal was just giving itself a running start for a seemingly impossible leap -- off a fragile branch and toward a tree on the opposite side of the river. The monkeys sailed over the water, losing height midair.

“They aren’t going to make it!” someone shouted.

The mother’s long arm reached out and grasped a branch that bent under the weight of two. The capuchin hauled itself up the tree and disappeared with the little one into the jungle.

I was surprised to feel tears streaming down my face. Other hikers’ expressions showed they too had witnessed a precious moment.

“In all my years working in this park, I have never seen anything like that,” Stefi said. “The monkeys don’t usually come anywhere near people.”

Trinity’s photos, taken in a flurry, show one oddly shaped monkey silhouette in flight between tree limbs -- a whoosh of movement like the river far, far below.

A zoological sideshow

We were not finished with animal sightings. Minutes later we encountered a group of pesky coatis, members of the raccoon family with elongated snouts. When I was growing up, a neighbor illegally kept a coati as a pet. Memories of that sweet, ring-tailed animal faded as we were besieged by six of them hunting for food.

The coatis scampered along the railing of our narrow path, their sharp claws grabbing for our backpacks. One coati jumped onto the backpack of a man hiking ahead. The hiker shrieked and flung the animal off. We dodged paws and scurried by, noting the “Do not feed the animals” signs nearby.

We passed a tree filled with chattering toucans on our way back to the hotel, where we enjoyed a wonderful dinner buffet of salads, fresh fruit, entrees such as roast beef and fish, and vegetable dishes. For dessert: a table laden with flan, pies, petits fours and cakes.

After dinner we practiced on the resort’s putting green by starlight, then found cozy niches in which to curl up and read while a harpist played in the lobby. Other night life lies in the border towns of Puerto Iguazu, Argentina, and Foz do Iguacu, Brazil, but compared with other tourist areas of either country, attractions here are few. (That explains why many visitors see Iguacu merely as a side trip from Buenos Aires or Rio de Janeiro.) The river provides the main show, so even at night we felt compelled to see and listen to the waterfalls.

Early the following morning, after the hotel’s scrumptious breakfast buffet, we drove into Brazil. Tourists not accompanied by a professional guide, as we were, must have a tourist visa to cross the border. We stopped briefly at Tres Fronteras, a large shopping complex offering chocolates, crafts, jewelry and liquor, then went to the Brazilian park’s visitor center.

Like its Argentine counterpart, Iguacu National Park aims to protect the jungle habitat, home to 420 bird species, 38 kinds of reptiles, almost 70 species of mammals and more than 2,000 species of plants.

We walked the park’s circuit of paths by the falls, then headed into the jungle to Macuco Safari, an eco-tour operator. We joined visitors from Italy, Germany and Australia for a tram ride, listening to a guide who pointed out tropical plants and talked about the ecosystem. After a 30-minute lesson on giant philodendrons, orchids and other native flora, we hiked through more jungle down to the river, donned life jackets, stowed cameras in plastic bags and climbed into the bright orange boat that would take us “into the falls.” Justus sat in the front, hoping for a thrill.

The falls towered over us. Our boat chugged upstream toward Devil’s Throat, the ride similar to a mild roller coaster. Every time we approached a set of rapids, I squeezed my eyes shut. Our boat went close enough to the waterfalls that our faces were misted, but I wouldn’t call it terrifying. Justus was more direct: “That was lame.”

He was disappointed, but the rest of us were content as we left the park, crossed back into Argentina and drove to the airport. As our plane ascended above Puerto Iguazu, I pressed my face to the window. Below, treetops spread in all directions, a dense green canopy hiding the wonders of Iguacu.

Anne Broyles is a writer based in Malibu.

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Admiring the ‘big water’ at Iguacu

GETTING THERE:

From LAX, travelers can take connecting flights into one of two airports close to Iguacu Falls: Puerto Iguazu, Argentina, or Foz do Iguacu, Brazil. To Foz do Iguacu, service with one connection is on Varig; service with three connections is provided by Varig with American or TAM. Restricted round-trip fares start at $1,109. To Puerto Iguazu, service with one connection is on Varig or LAPA; service with three connections is on American, Aerolineas Argentinas and United. Restricted round-trip fares start at $1,365.

WHERE TO STAY:

Sheraton Internacional Iguazu Resort, Parque Nacional Iguazu, Iguazu 3370, Argentina; 011-54-3757-491-800, fax 011- 54-3757-491-848, www.sheraton.com. A luxury resort inside the national park. Double rooms from about $100 a night, breakfast included.

Tropical das Cataratas Eco Resort, BR 469 Km 28, Parque Nacional do Iguacu, 85863-000 Foz do Iguacu, Parana, Brazil; 011-55-45-521-7000, fax 011-55-45-574-1688, www.tropicalhotel.com.br. A fine resort on the other side of the falls, inside Brazil’s national park. Doubles about $145.

WHERE TO EAT:

We ate all of our meals in the Sheraton restaurant, contact information above. A wonderful dinner buffet cost less than $35 for four people, drinks included.

The two restaurants at the Tropical das Cataratas hotel also are highly recommended. They serve various dinner buffets for about $13 per person.

CONTACT:

Argentina Government Tourist Information, 12 W. 56th St., New York, NY 10019; (212) 603-0443, www.turismo.gov.ar.

Brazilian Consulate Trade Center, Tourist Information, 8484 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 711, Beverly Hills, CA 90211; (323) 651-2664, fax (323) 651-1274, www.embratur.gov.br.

-- Anne Broyles