Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Iguazú Falls
Iguazú Falls is the least known of the world's
three greatest waterfalls, but this has done
nothing to steal its mighty thunder. Iguazú is
higher than Victoria, her South African sister,
and twice as wide as Niagara. Over 1,700 cubic
meters (60,000 cubic feet) of water per second
flow through this series of 275 falls on the
Iguazú River, the natural border with Brazil, in
Argentina's northeasternmost province of
Misiones.
The falls were officially discovered by the Por-
tuguese explorer Alvaro Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
during his arduous journey from the Brazilian
province of Santa Catalina to Asunción, Para-
guay in 1541. He christened them
Saltos de
Santa María
in honor of the patron virgin of his
trip, but it is their original Indian name that
endures today -
Iguazú,
which means “Mighty
Waters” in Guaraní
.
How the Falls Were Created
As the legend goes, the falls were created
centuries before their modern discovery by
the force of a young Indian couple's love.
Taroba, son of the chief of the Caigengue
tribe that ruled the area between the
Iguazú and Paraná rivers, and Naipi, a
blind princess, were inseparable. One morn-
ing as they were walking along the river in
the Valley of the Butterflies, Naipi asked
Taroba to describe the sights to her. He did
