Iguazú · Easy · Circular

Circuitos Superior e Inferior

The Upper and Lower walkways at Iguazú: along the brink of the falls, then down among them, close enough to feel the spray.

Distance
6.2 km (3.9 mi)
Ascent
76 m
Time
About 1 h 45 min
High point
191 m
Grade
Easy

Line © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), checked by Global Adventurer.

0 km2 km4 km6 km191 m131 m
Move along the height chart to see each point on the map.
Circuitos Superior e Inferior
Jorge Láscar from Australia · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The walk

From the car park at the park entrance, follow the Sendero Verde, a level forest path, to Estación Cataratas. The Upper Circuit starts here: a one-way loop of walkways without steps that runs out over the river along the top of a long line of falls, then back through the forest. Next take the Lower Circuit, which drops by stairs and walkways through the forest to viewpoints at the foot of the falls, where the spray drifts over the path, out to the far viewpoint and back the same way. Return to the car park by the Sendero Verde.

It is 6.2 km in all with 76 m of ascent; allow about 1½ hours of walking, and as long again to stop and look. The grade is Easy: metal walkways and stairs, wet and slippery near the falls.

The park charges for entry and for the car park, opens from 8:00 to 18:00 and lets visitors in until 16:00. Walkways close at short notice when the river floods: the Garganta del Diablo walkway has been dismantled since August 2026 for the El Niño floods, but these circuits stay open. Never feed the coatis.

Puerto Iguazú, the nearest town, is 18 km away by road. Inside the park a small train also runs from the Estación Central to Estación Cataratas.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.

Good to know

  • Iguazú National Park was created in 1934 and made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984
  • Around 275 separate falls drop over a crescent of basalt nearly 3 km long on the border with Brazil
  • The Upper Circuit runs along the brink of the falls without steps; the Lower Circuit has stairs and comes close enough to feel the spray
  • The falls lie in subtropical Atlantic Forest, shared with Brazil's Iguaçu National Park across the river

Getting there

Start: Iguazú National Park car park. -25.68459, -54.45438

Directions to the start

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Places to stay nearby

Rooms in and around Iguazú: Booking.com → Expedia → Hotels.com →

Affiliate links: if you book, Global Adventurer earns a small commission at no cost to you.

Paths change, and the weather decides the day. The line and figures come from OpenStreetMap and our own checks; take a map, check the forecast, and turn back if it isn't right.