Photo pending · Devil's Throat

Devil's Throat

The largest fall of Iguazu, reached from below on the Brazilian walkway or from above on the Argentine one.

Distance: 1.5 km / 2.2 km
Time: 60–90 / 50–70 min
Difficulty: Easy
Included in: Brazil Side Ticket · Argentina Side Ticket · Both Sides Ticket

The Devil's Throat (Garganta do Diabo in Portuguese, Garganta del Diablo in Spanish) is the horseshoe-shaped fall where most of the Iguazu river drops, and it sits on the border. You can reach it from both countries, with two very different results. From Brazil it is the finale of the Falls Trail: a walkway takes you to its foot, inside the spray, after about a kilometre and a half of viewpoints. From Argentina it is a train ride and a flat 1.1-kilometre walkway across the upper river to a balcony right at the lip, looking straight down. Each arrival needs that country's park ticket; the combo covers both.

In short

Two arrivals, two tickets: the Brazilian walkway is in the Brazil Side ticket, the Argentine balcony in the Argentina Side ticket
Brazil puts you below the fall in the spray; Argentina puts you above it, looking down
Both walkways close when the river runs high. Check each park's news the morning you go
Allow about an hour and a half from the Brazilian bus stop, and about an hour from the Argentine train station

The walk, stop by stop

From BrazilBrazil Side Ticket · 1.5 km · 60–90 minFrom ArgentinaArgentina Side Ticket · 2.2 km · 50–70 min

Both walkways can close when the river is high. Check each park's page the morning you go.

Stop 1 · ≈ 0 min inServiceapprox.
Visitor centre and park bus
Every visit to the Brazilian park starts at the visitor centre, where you show the ticket issued in your name and a photo ID. From there the park's panoramic buses run the roughly twelve kilometres to the start of the Falls Trail; the ride is included in the ticket and there is no other way in. Sit on the right if you can: the first glimpses of the canyon appear on that side before the bus stops.
Tip · Bring your passport, not a photocopy. The ticket is nominative and the gate checks it.
Photo pending
Stop 2 · ≈ 10 min inViewpointapprox.
Falls Trail viewpoints
The trail is a paved walkway of about a kilometre and a half along the Brazilian rim of the canyon. The park describes it as a wide, panoramic view of the largest set of waterfalls in the world, and that is exactly what it is: the Argentine falls line up across the water one after another. Balconies branch off the main path so you can stop without blocking the flow of visitors. This is where to take the wide shots, while your lens is still dry.
Tip · A light drizzle is constant on the trail, according to the park's own rules page. A poncho beats an umbrella.
Stop 3 · ≈ 30 min inServiceapprox.
Espaço Tarobá
A rest and service area partway along the trail, named after the Guarani legend of Tarobá and Naipi that the park uses to tell the origin of the falls. It was under revitalisation works in September 2026, so expect fences or detours around it. It is also the last calm spot before the path turns toward the Devil's Throat and the spray begins.
Photo pending
Stop 4 · ≈ 45 min inViewpointapprox.
Walkway into the Devil's Throat
The trail ends on a metal walkway that reaches out over the river to the foot of the Devil's Throat. The park calls it the most impactful encounter with the falls, and the noise, wind and spray make the point for it. You will get wet; there is no dry angle. When the sun is behind you in the afternoon a rainbow forms in front of the platform. The walkway closes when the Iguaçu river runs high: it was shut on 11 September 2026 and reopened four days later, so check the park's news before a trip planned around it.
Tip · Phone in a waterproof pouch before you step on. Everyone who does not regrets it.
Stop 5 · ≈ 60 min inServiceapprox.
Lifts and upper deck
From the walkway level, lifts included in the ticket take you up to the top of the canyon wall, where an upper deck looks down the length of the throat you were just standing under. Stairs are the alternative when the queue for the lift grows in high season. This is the last viewpoint of the trail and the driest place to photograph the walkway itself.
Stop 6 · ≈ 70 min inServiceapprox.
Porto Canoas: restaurant, shops and bus back
The trail exits at Porto Canoas, above the falls, with the Canoas Mirim restaurant, shops and the stop for the bus back to the visitor centre. The park's other restaurant, Cocar at the visitor centre, was closed for works in September 2026, so this is where most people eat. Sit by the river: it is the same water you just saw drop, a few hundred metres upstream and perfectly calm.
Tip · Coatis patrol the tables. Do not feed them and keep bags closed; the park's rules say so for a reason.

Stop 1 · ≈ 0 min inServiceapprox.
Central Station: board the Rainforest Ecological Train
Inside the Argentine park the Devil's Throat is reached by the Rainforest Ecological Train, included in the general ticket. Pick up a free train pass at the ticket office in the service courtyard, then board at Central Station. The first train leaves at 8:20, the last one toward the Devil's Throat at 15:30, every twenty minutes early on and every thirty afterwards; in high season every fifteen. Open carriages, no glass: you smell the forest on the way.
Tip · Go to the Devil's Throat first thing or after 14:00; the middle of the day has the longest queues for the train.
Stop 2 · ≈ 12 min inSegmentapprox.
Cataratas Station: change or stay on
The intermediate station serves the Upper and Lower Circuits. If you are heading straight for the Devil's Throat you stay on the train; if you started your day on the circuits you board here. The last train from this station to the Devil's Throat leaves at 15:40. There is also a pedestrian alternative to the train from here: a flat path of about 2.3 kilometres, forty minutes, for days when the train is packed.
Stop 3 · ≈ 30 min inServiceapprox.
Devil's Throat Station
The end of the line. Toilets, drinking water, a kiosk and the start of the Devil's Throat circuit: a walkway of 2.2 kilometres there and back, rated low difficulty and fully wheelchair-accessible by the park. The circuit opens at 8:00 and closes at 16:30, and the last train back to Central Station leaves at 17:30. It is completely exposed: no shade, no shelter from wind or rain.
Tip · Hat, water and sunscreen. The park's own advice page lists all three, and out on the walkway you will see why.
Photo pending
Stop 4 · ≈ 40 min inViewpointapprox.
Walkway over the Iguazú river
The walkway crosses the wide, calm upper river from island to island. The park lists the panoramic views of the Iguazú river as one of the circuit's highlights, and for a long stretch that is all there is: water, islands, birds, and a growing roar ahead with nothing yet to see. Three rest points with benches are spaced along the crossing. When the river runs high the whole circuit closes as a precaution; it was closed for exactly that reason on 27 September 2026.
Tip · Check the circuit status on the park's page the morning you go. A closure here changes your whole day.
Photo pending
Stop 5 · ≈ 55 min inViewpointapprox.
Devil's Throat Balcony
The walkway ends on a balcony at the very lip of the horseshoe. You look straight down into the drop, the spray rises to meet you and the noise removes any possibility of conversation. The park calls it an iconic place of surprising immensity, which is a fair description. Then you walk the same 1.1 kilometres back to the station, this time with the river at your back and the crowd coming toward you.
Tip · Late afternoon has the softest light and the thinnest crowd, but keep the 17:30 last train in mind.

Practical

Poncho or rain jacket and a waterproof pouch for the phone: the Brazilian walkway soaks everyone
Hat, water and sunscreen for the Argentine walkway, which has no shade
Do not feed the coatis and keep food inside closed bags; both parks say so in their rules
The Argentine circuit closes at 16:30 and the last train back leaves at 17:30
Both parks can close the walkways when the river rises; it happened on both sides in September 2026