One of the New 7 Wonders of Nature THE IGUAZU FALLS a must-visit destination in South America... he Iguazu Falls are waterfalls of the Iguazu River on the border of the Argentine province of Misiones and the Brazilian state of Paraná. The name "Iguazu" comes from the Guarani or Tupi words "y", meaning "water", and "ûasú ", meaning "big". The falls divide the river into the upper and lower Iguazu. The Iguazu River rises near the city of Curitiba. For most of its course, the river flows through Brazil, however, most of the falls are on the Argentine side. Iguazu Falls are locat- ed where the Iguazu River tumbles over the edge of the Paraná Plateau, 23 kilometres (14 mi) upriver from the Iguazu's conflu- ence with the Paraná River. The falls may be reached from two main towns, with one on either side of the falls: Puerto Iguazú in Argentina and Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil, as well as from Ciudad del Este, Para- guay, on the other side of the Paraná river from Foz do Iguaçu. The falls are shared by the Iguazú National Park (Argentina) and Iguaçu National Park (Brazil). The two parks were designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1984 and 1987, respective- ly. Dis- tribution of the falls between Argentina and Brazil: The border between Brazil and Argentina runs through the Devil's Throat. On the right bank is the Brazilian territory, which has just over 20% of the jumps of these falls, and the left side jumps are Argentine, which make up almost 80% of the falls. PACIFIC OCEAN A T L A N T I C O C E A N Sao Paulo IGUAZU NATIONAL PARK & IGUAZU FALLS URUGUAY BRAZIL PARAGUAY ARGENTINA BOLIVIA CHILE PERU Buenos Aires 12 277 374 116 14 11 TOTAL NUMBER OF 0 300000 600000 900000 1200000 1500000 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 VISITORS DURING THE LAST 5 YEARS