Ibera Wetlands & Iguazu Falls Tour

City tours in Buenos Aires and at night, a 9 hours unique Bus ride to Mercedes. You will get to sleep in the bus, which sits turn into beds, and early in the morning arrive at the ranch.

Rincón del Socorro, is a natural reserve that is funded by the CLT (The Conservational Land Trust) and the Tompkins Trust. In this park they rehabilitate wounded animals, teach them how to survive on their own and, after some careful evaluation, set them free to rejoin their natural habitat. This reserve stands on land that was used to raise cattle and was stripped down of its original fauna and flora. What the reserve did was let the wild flora grow on its own and take its rightful place to be the house of reintegrated wildlife. The Ibera Wetlands is a unique and rich place to explore.

Arrive at the Ranch, inside the Reserve, in order to enjoy of a beautiful program at the Ibera Wetlands.

After breakfast, our hosts will invite you to a pleasant chat in order to give guests some information about the Ibera Wetlands, its origins, its characteristics, their environment, and the local animals, that have been so carefully reintroduced.

A walk around the ranch visiting the gardens, the school, the stable and the little ponds near the Hostería, is the best option to get used to the area.

Rincón del Socorro is an excellent place for birding; if you are not already a bird watcher, it is very easy to become one here! In the four different habitats of this large former ranch, you can see an amazing number of different types of birds in a short time, including endangered species from the surrounding region that have found shelter here. You will learn about their behavior, habitats, migrations, and the problems caused by the degradation of their environment.

In the afternoon, we will go on a long walk, leaving from the main house. At first, it is impressive to see the signs left by the gaucho’s activity on the landscape. You may notice the presence of many animals and plants that have benefited from the change in the landscape.

You will see, during this long but fascinating walk palm trees, which typically grow in argyle and wet soils. You will also go through a garden full of capybaras. They always stay in this area, leaving the grass very short, as it used to dominate the landscape on the marshlands’ borders.

We depart after breakfast, following a dirt road for almost 35 km to the Laguna Ibera, this is savannah landscapes and chances of spotting Strange Tail Tyrants are almost guaranteed.

Our guide will lead you on a very pleasant boat trip for two hours, exploring a vast range of plants, reptiles, mammals and birdlife.

After a morning outing, a barbeque lunch is served in a beautiful barbeque hut beside the boat dock, weather permitting. Good wildlife watching is possible right by the barbeque area.

In the afternoon, horseback riding will be offered. This is an ideal horseback riding country and guests are encouraged to give it a try even if they’re not seasoned riders. From the saddle you can see lots of wildlife; riding is the quickest, easiest and most pleasant way to get to know this ecosystem. The horses are well-behaved and the guides competent.

Activities end with a Night Safari viewing the night fauna.

A 4×4 will take you to Posadas, where you have the rest of the day free.

Learn the history of the beginnings of the new world.

On your way from Posadas to Iguazú Falls, you will stop by San Ignacio Miní Jesitical Ruins, where the local tour guide will teach you about the lifestyle and history of the Natives and the later disappearances.

Its a breath-taking place full of the magic the stories of the past leave behind and how they reflect it in their today’s lives.

After breakfast, we will go on a visit to the Iguazu National Park, where we will be able to approach, see and feel most of the jumps (with the Devil’s Throat as the pearl of the Park) in a very near way.
There, we will walk along the 3 different circuits: Upper Circuit, Lower Circuit and Devil Throat´s.
The Lower Circuit, offers several views of different falls, among them the Two Sisters, Bossetti & Hidden Falls; and a panoramic view of Isla San Martin.
The Upper Circuit offers a panoramic view of the Brazilian falls and the Salto San Martin, and also the catwalks have access to the Iguazu River Delta, with islands full of vegetation.
To arrive to the Devil´s Throat, we will first ride the“Train of the Jungle”until reach the starting point for the walking circuit. Then, after 1000 meters, we will be able to see one of the most spectacular natural phenomena in the world.

During this day, an adventurous excursion will take part in our journey as well: “The Great Adventure”

Description of “Great Adventure”:

Departing from the Operative Center or from the Visitors’ Center, we shall enter the jungle by the Yacaratiá trail in trucks specially designed for this environment. Bilingual guides (Spanish and English) will introduce the place’s natural and cultural resources.

This 5 kms long stretch ends at Puerto Macuco. At its dock, visitors shall board on the boats that shall be sailing in the Lower Iguazu River for as long as 6 kms, heading towards the waterfalls area, enjoying plentiful rapids.

Upon reaching the Tres Mosqueteros Fall, visitors shall be able to see the falls on both the Argentine and Brazilian sides crowned by the view of the Garganta del Diablo (Devil’s Throat). Afterwards, the most exciting point comes when facing the incomparable San Martín waterfall, the boat gets really close to it and everyone gets wet.

At the end of the trip, we shall descend from the boat on the dock located in front of the San Martín Island, where visitors may continue enjoying the landscape joining the runway system of the Lower Circuit.

This excursion can also be made in the opposite direction: from the San Martín dock to the Visitors’ Center.

Transfer back to the lodge, in order to take a deserved rest.

We continue with our visit to the falls, but now from the Brazilian side.

The excursion will be shorter, but incredible as well. The circuit that leads to the falls, will allow us to see a panoramic view of most of the falls, from a distance that let us immerse in a natural postcard that captures the combination of all the moments in almost one click.

To complete the experience, we will overfly the falls in Helicopter, in a 10 minutes ride that will allow us to enjoy the falls from the sky. Optionally, we can extend this ride to 35 minutes, including also the impressive Itaipu Dam.

Afterwards, we will head back to Puerto Iguazu, and we will visit a Bio Center (unique in the area) located in the surroundings of the Village. It´s an Interpretation Center where we will be able to see different extracts from the Flora and the Fauna of the zone. There are reptiles, birds, plants and an aquarium, and the guide will lead us through this experience of seeing and understanding more about this topic. It takes around 1:30 hours.

Transfer back to the lodge.

Breakfast at the Hotel, and then, at an agreed upon time, transfer to the Iguazú Airport.

Transfer from the Airport to the hotel in Buenos Aires.

Breakfast at the Hotel, and then, at an agreed upon time, transfer to the Buenos Aires International Airport.

If you liked this wildlife tour, we invite you to explore our other Argentina Wildlife Tours.

We invite you to see our Argentina Tours, where you can experience the true Argentine culture.