Life> Travel

Legend of the Falls

By China Daily (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-24 16:49

Straddling the borders of Argentina and Brazil, the Iguazu Falls is undoubtedly one of the most imposing natural sights in the world. Provided to China Daily

Fearless coatis entertain visitors at the Falls.

The Rainforest Ecological Train ferries visitors to the waterfalls.

This is the widest waterfall on the American continent, second only to the Victoria Falls worldwide. Wang Ru explores the romance of the Big Water.

Much of the Iguazu Falls straddles the borders of Argentina and Brazil in a spreading system that is made up of 275 cascades along 2.7 kilometers of the Iguazu River. The most impressive waters can be viewed at Devil's Throat (Garganta del Diablo) ?82 meters high, 150 meters wide and 700 meters long. After flying two hours from Buenos Aires, we land at a tiny airport surrounded by jungle. Undaunted, we are all prepared to explore the Iguazu Falls, already shortlisted for the New Seven Wonders of the World.

There is a light shower as the guide drove us through the Iguazu National Park in the Argentinean winter and, somewhere, the roaring waterfall was waiting for us.

According to local legend, the falls were formed when two star-crossed lovers incurred the wrath of a vengeful god. The young lady, a victim of the god's unwanted attention, was going to run away with her lover.

When the god found out, he cleaved the river into two and formed raging waterfalls which separated the lovers forever.

The gloomy weather on the day we arrived reminded me of yet another set of thwarted lovers - in the reel romance directed by Wong Kar-wai. Happy Together was about two gay lovers who made a pact to see this famous waterfall. However, only one of them finally made it to the falls, having fallen out with his lover as they traveled together.

For many Hong Kong movie fans, the Iguazu Falls is actually a homage site to Leslie Cheung, the lead actor in Happy Together whose tragic suicide echoed much of the plot in the film.

Still nothing much can distract visitors from the sheer awe of seeing this waterfall at the Iguazu National Park, which was established in 1934 and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.

You can explore the jungle and approach the falls by foot, on wheels or by the Rainforest Ecological Train, which runs through the rainforest for 7 km before it stops at the Devil's Throat waterfall.

The jungle experience starts even before we board the train. While waiting at the Cataratas station for our ride, we were entertained by the coati, a cute and clever animal that has no fear of humans.

The environmentally-friendly little train has 120 seats and transports an average of 1 million passengers a year.

The distinctive geological features formed a billion years ago were impressive, but I was too eager to see the falls, which I could hear roaring out of mists.

The famous Chinese poet Li Bai once wrote about approaching a huge waterfall in his poem:

"Falling along three thousand feet, just like the Milky Way down from the nine heavens."

Devil's Throat is breathtakingly beautiful, and I am amazed by the splendor of nature on such a scale.

Iguazu means "big water" in the language of the Guarani, native South American Indians living in the area. It is the perfect description for the Devil's Throat, which cascades in 14 mighty falls with immense volumes of water tumbling down a throat-shaped cliff.

Reluctantly leaving the Devil's Throat behind, we walked down towards the river, encountering many strange plants, birds and palm-sized monkeys.

At the riverbank, we were given plastic bags for our cameras and wallets and told to put on raincoats and I knew we were now going to feel the falls rather than just see it.

A jet boat was waiting for us. With all aboard, it picked up speed and we bumped along on the water. As we approached the falls, the boat accelerated and shot right underneath the falls where it made a sudden 360-degree turn.

We were all soaked by the gushing water but it was still the most thrilling experience in my life.

The sun came out, almost on cue, and as we dried off and got on our return transport, a huge rainbow appeared over the waterfall.

Finally, I saw the gentle beauty the falls could also produce.