We’re on our own today to explore the Brazilian side of the falls at our leisure. The Cataratas hotel is inside the National Park and only a 10-minute walk from the hotel to the park trails.
After a leisurely breakfast by the pool, we wandered down to the trailhead. The view from this side of the falls is totally different from the Argentine side.
While the majority of the falls are in Argentina, the view from the Brazilian side is more panoramic. The Brazilian side is also much smaller than Argentina’s. It took us about two and a half hours to walk the trails to the various vantage points.
The finale is a spectacular platform view in front of the famous Devils Throat. Spectacular. The roar of the water is unbelievable.
After finishing our tour of the park we enjoyed appetizers next to the pool in lieu of lunch and chilled for a few hours. We were entertained by a family of coati who hung around looking for snacks.
In the center of the hotel is an observation tower that gives a great 360 view of the property and surrounding area. It was a steep hike to the top but worth it. Quite impressive views. The hotel claims to have events up there. It’s pretty tight quarters, but who knows.
We had made reservations for dinner at the hotel in the Itaipu restaurant our last night at the property. What a nice meal – Cappuccino with Mushrooms (think great mushroom soup) and the barbequed scallops as starters. Dick is a sucker for lamb and went with a rack of same, Mary had filet medallions with gorgonzola/mushroom ravioli (sounds strange, but it worked). A nightcap in the lounge concluded the evening and we headed back to the room finish packing for departure in the morning.