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Independent guide, not the official park site. Official tickets are sold only by each park: Brazil: cataratasdoiguacu.com.br · Argentina: iguazuargentina.com

Photo pending · Lower Circuit

Lower Circuit

Argentina's path down among the falls: stairs, spray and seven viewpoints from the base, ninety minutes.

Distance
2.9 km
Time
90 min
Difficulty
Moderate
Included in
Argentina Side Ticket · Both Sides Ticket

The Lower Circuit (Circuito Inferior) is the Argentine park's walk down to the base of the falls. It starts at the Plazoleta Dos Hermanas near Cataratas Station and loops for 2.9 kilometres, there and back, through the forest and along the lower river, with balconies at the foot of the Lanusse, Álvar Núñez, Chico and Dos Hermanas falls and panoramic views of the San Martín fall and, in the distance, the Devil's Throat. The park rates it medium difficulty because of stretches of steep stairs, gives it ninety minutes and says about seventy percent is accessible by an adapted route. It is included in the Argentina Side ticket and the combo, and it shows from below what the Upper Circuit shows from above.

In short

  • 2.9 km there and back, medium difficulty, steep stairs, about 90 minutes according to the park
  • You are at the base of the falls: expect spray on the walkways and the loudest noise in the park
  • The only place on the Argentine side to see the Devil's Throat from below and afar
  • About 70% accessible by the adapted route; the rest is stairs

The walk, stop by stop

Open 8:00 to 16:45, subject to weather; the park may close it when the river rises.
  1. Stop 1 · ≈ 0 min inServiceapprox.

    Plazoleta Dos Hermanas: start of the circuit

    From Cataratas Station take the path to the left, pass the fire department building and the water tower, and continue to the fork; the left branch is the adapted route for wheelchairs. Both lead to the Plazoleta Dos Hermanas, where the Lower Circuit starts. The park rates it medium difficulty, 2.9 kilometres there and back in about ninety minutes, with stretches of steep stairs and an adapted alternative that makes about seventy percent of it accessible. It opens at 8:00 and closes at 16:45.

    Tip · Stairs go down first and up at the end. Save some energy, and some water, for the climb back.

  2. Photo pending
    Stop 2 · ≈ 12 min inViewpointapprox.

    Lanusse fall

    A long fall with its own balcony and a rainbow in the mist, in the park's words. It is the first sign that the Lower Circuit is a different experience from the Upper: you are now among the falls instead of above them, and the sound comes from all sides.

  3. Photo pending
    Stop 3 · ≈ 22 min inViewpointapprox.

    Álvar Núñez fall, lower and upper views

    The park gives this fall two viewpoints: a lower one where, as it says, the forest opens only to show you this miracle, and an upper one with two balconies surrounded by vegetation. The fall is named after Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, the Spanish explorer credited with being the first European to see the falls in 1541. Between the two viewpoints you are inside the forest with no view of the river at all.

  4. Stop 4 · ≈ 35 min inViewpointapprox.

    Panoramic views of the Devil's Throat and the river

    The circuit opens onto the lower river and, in the distance, the column of spray that marks the Devil's Throat. It is the only place in the Argentine park where you see the throat from below and from afar, the same angle the Brazilian side has all along. If you have already done the Devil's Throat walkway, this is where it clicks into place.

    Tip · This is a good spot for a wide photo that includes the far Brazilian rim.

  5. Photo pending
    Stop 5 · ≈ 45 min inViewpointapprox.

    Panoramic views of the San Martín fall and the Upper Circuit

    Deep green, warm mist and a crystalline roar, per the park. From here you look up at the San Martín fall and at the walkways of the Upper Circuit running along its crest, with people on them. When the river level allows, the free boat crossing to San Martín island leaves from the shore below this part of the circuit; ask at the station whether it is operating.

  6. Photo pending
    Stop 6 · ≈ 55 min inViewpointapprox.

    Chico fall

    Hidden in the vegetation and, as the park says, ideal for explorers. A small fall off the main sightline that most people walk past; the balcony is usually empty and the forest around it is dense enough to feel far from the crowd.

  7. Photo pending
    Stop 7 · ≈ 65 min inViewpointapprox.

    Dos Hermanas fall from below

    The circuit closes its loop under the same twin falls that open the Upper Circuit, identical cascades that impress you, in the park's phrase. Seen from the base they are a different thing: the pool at their foot, the spray on the walkway and the noise. From here it is stairs back up to the plazoleta and the path to Cataratas Station, about twenty-five minutes with the climb.

    Tip · If the Devil's Throat is still on your list, remember the last train from Cataratas Station leaves at 15:40.

Practical

  • Shoes with grip: the stairs and the lower walkways are wet from the spray
  • A light rain jacket keeps you dry at the Bossetti and Dos Hermanas balconies
  • The adapted route starts at the fork before the plazoleta, on the left branch
  • Open 8:00 to 16:45, subject to weather; the park may close it when the river rises
  • Water and sunscreen; the lower stretches are humid and hot

Related trails

Photo pending
ArgentinaUpper Circuit
Photo pending
Brazil + ArgentinaDevil's Throat
Photo pending
BrazilCataratas Trail