Comandante Andresito

Comandante Andresito is a settlers' town of yerba mate plantations in the north-east corner of Misiones, on the upper Iguazú river and along the edge of the national park. Around it survives some of the best Paranaense forest in the country, one of the richest ecosystems on the continent after the Amazon: more than a hundred species of mammals, the jaguar and the harpy eagle among them, and birds everywhere.

Two nights after the falls is the way to use it, an hour and a half by road from Puerto Iguazú. Yacutinga Lodge, the first jungle lodge in Argentina, sits inside its own wildlife refuge, with trails, boat trips on the river, environmental education projects with the Guaraní communities and even yoga in the forest. Surucuá Lodge, a smaller family-run place, offers the same immersion at a more domestic scale. Days go on guided walks, night walks, canoeing on the Iguazú and watching birds, and on the slow rhythm of the forest.

Winter, from May to September, is mild and drier, the most comfortable time for walking. Summer is hot and humid, and the forest at its loudest.