Iguazu Falls in Argentina
Argentina has about 80 per cent of the falls and all of the walkways that take you onto them. This is the side you walk; it is also the side where the river has taken a circuit away.
What the Argentine side gives you
Roughly 3.5 kilometres of built walkway on two circuits, a narrow-gauge train through the forest, a jungle track down to the water and the only boat that runs under the Argentine falls. You spend the day among the cascades rather than looking at them from across the gorge, which is the whole difference between this side and the Brazilian one.
Allow a full day. The Área Cataratas opens at 08:00 every day of the year, the circuits open at 08:20, and nobody is admitted to a circuit after 16:45.
As of 13 September 2026
What is open right now
The Argentine Garganta del Diablo circuit is closed. Parque Nacional Iguazú suspended access on 3 August 2026 as the river rose and began taking the walkway apart to protect it; the park put the removal work at 30 to 40 days and has not named a reopening date, which depends on the flow dropping back. Every other Argentine circuit is open and the Tren Ecológico is running.
On the Brazilian side the passarela at the end of the Trilha das Cataratas closes at short notice on high water — it was shut at 13:00 on 11 September 2026 with the river above 8.4 million litres a second against a historical mean near 1.5 million. The trail and its viewpoints stayed open, and the park kept its normal 16:00 close.
Check both parks on the morning you go: iguazuargentina.com for the Argentine side and cataratasdoiguacu.com.br for the Brazilian.
Circuito Superior
About 1,750 metres of level walkway running along the tops of the falls, looking down the drop. It is the flattest walking in the park, built on steel gratings with no steps of consequence, and it takes most people an hour and a half with photographs. From it you look straight down Salto Bosetti, Salto Adán y Eva and Salto Bossetti in turn.
If you have limited mobility or are pushing a stroller, this is the circuit to do.
Circuito Inferior
Around 1,700 metres and the steeper of the two, dropping through the forest to the foot of the falls and finishing at the jetty where the boats leave. It includes roughly 180 steps, and the operators are consistent that going down is easier than coming back up.
The reward is the view up at Salto San Martín and the landing for Isla San Martín when the river is low enough for it to run. Two hours is realistic.
Garganta del Diablo — closed since 3 August 2026
The Devil's Throat circuit is a 1,100-metre walkway out across the top of the river to the lip of the chasm, and it is currently not there. Parque Nacional Iguazú suspended access on 3 August 2026 because of the river's rise, and began taking the walkway apart section by section so that a flood would not carry it away.
The park put the removal work at 30 to 40 days and said explicitly that this is not an estimated reopening date: the walkway goes back when the flow allows, and no date has been announced. The train still runs to Garganta station, and the other circuits are unaffected.
If seeing the Throat matters to you, there are two ways to do it at the moment. The Brazilian trail ends at a walkway looking straight across the chasm, and a helicopter flight from Foz do Iguaçu looks into it from above.
Sendero Verde and Sendero Macuco
The Sendero Verde is a short 600-metre link from the visitor centre to the Cataratas station, through forest rather than along the falls. It is the walk most people do without noticing they are on a trail.
The Sendero Macuco is the serious one: a 7-kilometre return walk to the Arrechea fall and a plunge pool, away from the crowds entirely. It closes to new walkers early in the afternoon and is the best chance in the park of seeing something other than a coati.
The Tren Ecológico de la Selva
The park's gas-powered train runs at walking pace between three stations and is included in your ticket. It is how you cover the distance between the circuits without walking the access roads.
| Service | Time |
|---|---|
| First departure, Estación Central to Estación Garganta | 08:20 |
| Then | 08:40, 09:00, and every 30 minutes |
| High season | Every 15 minutes |
| Last departure to Estación Garganta | 15:30 |
| Last return from Estación Garganta | 17:30 |
Queues at Estación Central build through the morning. Reviewers who did this well say the same thing: buy your park ticket online, arrive for the opening, and take the first train.
Gran Aventura — the boat, and who cannot ride it
The Argentine boat trip runs from the lower circuit, after a jungle-truck ride along a red laterite track and about 300 metres of steps down to the jetty. It drives in under the falls and everybody aboard is soaked; a dry bag for phones and cameras is handed out first.
The restrictions are real and the operators publish them: a minimum age of 12 or 13 depending on the listing, and no participation for pregnant travellers or for people with back, heart, kidney, lung or neurological conditions, motor disability, osteoporosis or morbid obesity. Park staff may refuse a passenger at their discretion and the fare is not refunded in that case.
If that rules you out, the upper circuit and the train cover the same falls from above, and the Brazilian trail is level for its whole length.
Argentine days with the boat in the fare
Several guided Iguazu Falls tours put the train, the jungle truck and the Gran Aventura boat into one price — and a few carry the park entrance too.
A day on the Argentine side, hour by hour
At the gate
Ticket already bought online. The entrance opens on the hour and the first queue of the day is the shortest one.
First train
Straight to Cataratas station while the coaches are still arriving.
Lower Circuit
Down through the forest to the foot of the falls and the jetty, before the sun is overhead.
Boat
If you booked one. Change of clothes in the bag, everything else in the dry sack.
Upper Circuit
Level walking along the tops, with the afternoon light behind the water.
That order is deliberate. The lower circuit is steep and the morning is cooler, the boat sits in the middle so you dry out afterwards, and the upper circuit is the one you can walk tired.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Devil's Throat open?
What is the Tren Ecológico?
What does the Argentine ticket include?
Will I get wet on the boat ride?
How long do you need at the falls?
Hours, both admissions and what to bring are on plan your visit; the named falls are set out on highlights and activities. To compare the guided days that cover this side, start at Iguazu Falls Tours.
Sources
- Iguazú Argentina — tarifas (Argentine admission and parking, read 13 September 2026)
- Iguazú Argentina — horarios y consejos (Argentine hours and train timetable)
- The Brazilian park — 2026 ticket prices (effective 19 December 2025)
- The Brazilian park — passarela notice, 11 September 2026
- Administración de Parques Nacionales — the Argentine park
- UNESCO World Heritage — the Argentine inscription
Prices and opening times change. Verify both parks before you travel.