Breathtaking waterfalls, lush wetlands, rare jungle animals, and the haunting remains of Jesuit Mission culture—Argentina’s Iberá region is fast emerging as the new must-see adventure spot in South America.

You’ll have the rare privilege of staying on a 12,000-acre former cattle ranch that has been transformed into a conservationist’s paradise. On horseback and by canoe you’ll plunge deep into these massive wetlands, on the lookout for caimans, jaguarundis, howler monkeys, and maned wolves. In the 1700s, this area was blanketed by Catholic missions, and today their ruins stand as a testament to the equivocal legacy of colonialism.

Our trip climaxes with one of the most stunning spectacles on earth, the 270 roaring waterfalls that comprise Iguazú Falls. You’ll tour the falls from top and bottom, from the Brazilian side and the Argentinean, and even take a boat ride as close as possible to the foaming base of the torrent. Argentina is still raw—come lose yourself in the wilderness!

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS

• Explore the massive and complicated Iberá region—second largest wetlands in South America (no other American operator offers this itinerary)
• Enjoy exclusive access to a 12,000-acre former cattle ranch that has been transformed into a sprawling natural reserve
• Intense exploration of majestic Iguazú Falls—feel the spray on your face from river level!

Day 1 ~ Buenos Aires

After arriving at the airport you’ll be met by an MTS representative and transferred to the hotel where you’ll have use of rooms for the day. The afternoon is free to explore this capital city, sometimes known as the “Paris of South America.” There’s lots to do here, including world famous museums and botanical gardens, not to mention vibrant music and dance scenes. You’ll have a welcome dinner at an Argentine steak house—many experts agree that Argentine beef is the finest in the world, so you’re sure to enjoy yourself! Afterwards you’ll transfer to the bus station in order to board the overnight executive bus to Mercedes in Corrientes Province.

Dinner...Overnight bus

DAY 2 ~ Corrientes

Arrive at the bus station in the city of Mercedes in the morning. You will be met by the staff of Estancia El Rincon and transferred by four-wheel-drive vehicle to the Estancia. Corrientes Province is a lush, subtropical region, bounded by the Uruguay River to the east and the Paraná River to the northwest. Most of the province is a low-lying plain, creating the thick wetlands that you’ll spend time exploring. Leaving Mercedes you’ll head south toward Estancia Rincón del Socorro, a 12,000-acre former cattle ranch that has been turned into a nature reserve. Along the way we’ll drive slowly, so keep your eyes on the surrounding countryside in hopes of spotting capybaras, jaguarundis, deer, and innumerable birds. Your accommodation is in a small eco-hotel with comfortable bungalows and generous common areas. The restaurant honors the Argentine barbecue tradition, and the delicious gourmet meals are prepared with free-range meat and predominantly organic fruits and vegetables.

Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner...Hosteria Rincón del Socorro

DAY 3 ~ Iberá Wetlands

Made up of swamps, bogs, lakes, and lagoons, the Iberá are the second largest wetlands in South America, and one of the most important reservoirs of fresh water on the continent. This marshy area stretches for more than 12,000 square miles, and is an important home for many plant and animal species. You’ll get out into the marshes and look for maned wolves, pampas deer, and neotropical river otters. Caimans and alligators haunt the shallows, and over 350 species of birds can be found in the skies overhead. The ideal way to experience the area is on horseback, and our Hosteria has excellent riding facilities. Even if your vaquero skills are rusty or nonexistent, these horses are well behaved and the guides are extremely competent, so you’ll be up and riding in no time! The ranch itself has an abundance of different ecotypes, and you’ll take to the trails and explore them all.

Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner...Hosteria Rincón del Socorro

DAY 4 ~ Iberá Wetlands

Leave the horses behind and venture deeper into the swamplands by boat. You’ll use classic local-style canoes and a flat-bottomed aluminum motor boat to get to the places that are inaccessible on foot. Even if you’ve never considered yourself a birder before, this might just be the place you become one! After a morning on the water you’ll pull ashore for a barbecue lunch and more wildlife viewing.

Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner...Hosteria Rincón del Socorro

DAY 5 ~ Lake Iberá

Leave the Hosteria after breakfast and drive by four-wheel-drive vehicle north to Estancia Santa Inés or Estancia Santa Cecilia in the southern part of Misiones Province. This is a drive of about four hours, with the first half on dirt roads that get slick when it’s wet, so you’ll make your way in rugged 4x4 Land Rovers and pickups. You’ll make a stop by the small village of Carlos Pellegrini, located on the edge of Lake Iberá. Twenty years ago this town was made up of hunters (and poachers), many of whom became wildlife rangers and wilderness guides when the area became a reserve. You’ll continue on an unpaved road that runs through rolling hills covered with green yerba, and tea plantations that contrast with the red earth characteristic of this region. Our hostess at Santa Inés or Santa Cecilia will have lunch ready and waiting for you when you arrive. The afternoon is free to relax, visit the Estancia, ride horseback, or just soak at the pool.

Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner...Estancia Santa Inés or Estancia Santa Cecilia

DAY 6 ~ San Ignacio Miní – Iguazú Falls

After breakfast you’ll depart for Puerto Iguazú, gateway to the famous waterfalls of the same name. A little way past Posadas, you’ll stop at the ruins of the San Ignacio Miní Mission, which was built by Jesuits in the mid-16th century. The mission was one of 30 towns that the Jesuits established for the Guaraní Indians, in a region that is now shared by Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. In 1767 the population of this area approached 150,000, but the towns broke apart following the expulsion of the Jesuits and the Portuguese and Paraguayan invasions of 1816-1819. At San Ignacio Miní you’ll be able to admire the remains of a church built in the colonial Baroque style. The priest’s quarters, the schools, and the workshops are visible on one side of the main square, with the cemetery and the single women’s quarters located opposite. After lunch at San Ignacio, you’ll drive the last stretch of our trip along Route 12, where the struggle between industrialization and wilderness is painfully apparent. Piles of timber and slash are testament to the shrinking acreage of the forest, with the blank spaces increasingly occupied by plantations of tobacco and yerba. A few solitary araucarias and lapacho trees—protected by law—stand out amid the devastated landscape. Continue to Iguazú National Park.

Breakfast,Lunch...Sheraton Iguazú

DAY 7 ~ Iguazú Falls

Iguazú Falls actually consists of 270 waterfalls arrayed over more than a mile and half of cliffs overlooking the Iguazú River. The most thunderous of these is the Devil’s Throat, a U-shaped monster torrent that marks the boundary between Argentina and Brazil. You’ll spend a full day exploring the Argentine side of the falls, hiking both from above and below. Later on you’ll hop in Zodiacs for a ride up close to the base of the falls, and then head downriver for a thrilling—and drenching—float over the roiling rapids below. Eventually you’ll pull over at the river bank for a hike through the jungle and your eventual return to the hotel on open 4x4 vehicles. It’s a thrilling day from start to finish, and one you won’t soon forget.

Breakfast...Sheraton Iguazú

DAY 8 ~ Iguazú Falls

Today you’ll explore the Brazilian side of the falls, beginning with a vertiginous stroll along a catwalk that traces the edge of the falls. Along the way you’ll have unobstructed panoramic views of the falls, and at the end you’ll stare directly into the gaping maw of the Devil’s Throat itself. The tour ends at the upper part of Iguazú Falls, which are accessed via an elevator with an extraordinary view. From there you’ll follow a trail as far as the Espaço Porto Canoas, where there is another lookout point from a new vantage—you can never see enough of these falls, and each view is more spectacular than the last. From this last point you’ll meet the vehicles that will take you back to the hotel. Early afternoon transfer to the airport for the return flight to Buenos Aires. You will be met and transferred to the international airport for flights home.

Breakfast...

Stay a Little Longer

You may wish to combine this trip with one of our regular group departure adventures in South America, our other Private Adventures in Latin America, or other independent travel on your own.

Arrival & Departure Information

You can arrive in Buenos Aires at anytime on Day 1. You will be met at the airport and transferred to your hotel. The trip ends with a transfer to the airport in Buenos Aires on Day 8.

Air Travel

Airfare is not included in the land cost of our trips. For air reservations, we recommend you contact the airlines directly, either by phone or the Internet. In addition, many travelers elect to use their “frequent flyer” miles when traveling with us. But please check with our staff before purchasing or obtaining your tickets, so we may verify your arrival and departure schedule.

Activity Level

Mountain Travel Sobek trips are designed for flexible, energetic people who like to be active and have a spirit of adventure and a positive attitude. We rate this trip as moderate in nature. None of the activities can be considered strenuous.

If you are not optimally conditioned, we recommend that you start a training program at least three months before departure, gradually increasing the intensity and duration. If your health is questionable or your physical stamina is limited, please discuss other trip options with us.

Your Guides

At each destination of your journey, knowledgeable local guides attached to the accommodation will accompany you on daily activities. They are all experts in their fields and will provide fascinating insights and perspectives on what you’re seeing. You may be accompanied by other visitors staying at the hotel or lodge.

What’s Included

• local English speaking guides
• accommodations
• meals as noted (B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner)
• airport transfers
• flights within Argentina (see separate cost above)
• sightseeing and activities as noted in the itinerary
• ground transportation and transfers (except from Buenos Aires to Mercedes—see separate cost above). Please note that transfers between estancias are without a guide and not all drivers are bilingual.
• entrance fees
• basic medical and evacuation insurance

What’s Not

International airfare; meals not noted in itinerary; bus transfer from Buenos Aires to Merced ($60); insurance other than basic medical and evacuation insurance as noted above (we strongly recommend you purchase the supplementary trip insurance offered by Mountain Travel Sobek, which includes trip cancellation insurance); optional tipping to leader, guides and local staff; excess baggage charges; airport taxes; and items of a personal nature (sodas, alcoholic beverages, laundry, etc.).

Payment & Cancellation Policy

(This differs from regular Mountain Travel Sobek group trips.)

(This differs from regular Mountain Travel Sobek trips.)

I. Payment
At time of reservation: $800 or 25% of Land Cost
120 days prior to departure: 25% of Land Cost
90 days prior to departure: Balance of Land Cost

II. Cancellation
If written notice of cancellation is received, Cancellation Fee will be:
From time of reservation until
90 days prior to departure: $800 or 25% of Land Cost, whichever is greater
89 to 60 days prior to departure: 50% of Land Cost
59 days or fewer prior to departure: 100% of Land Cost

Note on Itinerary

This itinerary has been carefully designed for optimal value. You may wish to combine this tour with another or add extensions at the beginning or end of your trip. However, if you wish to customize this tour, other terms and conditions apply (ask us about information on customized adventures). Travel Agent commissions or any type of other discounts do not apply to custom tours.

Although we will do our best to adhere to the itinerary schedule as listed, it is subject to change. Please read the Limitation of Liability and Booking Conditions in the four-page Participant Information Form. You can find all this information on our website.

Limitation of Liability

“Mountain Travel Sobek” is defined to include its owners, agents, directors, officers, employees, representatives and affiliates (collectively “Mountain Travel”). Except for the Alaska Discovery Inn, some small craft and some vans in Alaska, Mountain Travel does not own or operate any entity that provides goods or services for your trip including, for example, ownership or control over hotels or other lodging facilities, airline, vessel, bus, van or other transportation companies, local ground operators, providers or organizers of optional excursions, food service or entertainment providers, etc. All such persons and entities are independent contractors. As a result, Mountain Travel is not liable for any negligent or willful act or failure to act of any such person or entity, or of any other third party. Without limitation, Mountain Travel Sobek is not responsible for any injury, loss, or damage to person or property, death, delay or inconvenience in connection with the provision of any goods or services occasioned by or resulting from, but not limited to, acts of God, force majeure, acts of war or civil unrest, insurrection or revolt, strikes or other labor activities, criminal or terrorist activities of any kind, overbooking or downgrading of accommodations, structural or other defective conditions in hotels or other lodging facilities, mechanical or other failure of airplanes or other means of transportation or for any failure of any transportation mechanism to arrive or depart timely, dangers associated with animals, marine life or vegetation of any sort, dangers incident to recreational activities such as scuba diving, snorkeling, swimming, kayaking, sailing, canoeing, rafting, hiking, bicycling, rock climbing, etc., sanitation problems, food poisoning, lack of, access to or quality of medical care, difficulty in evacuation in case of a medical or other emergency, or for any other cause beyond the direct control of Mountain Travel. In addition, participants release Mountain Travel from its own negligence and assume all risk thereof. On advancement of deposit to Mountain Travel, the depositor therefore agrees to be bound by the above recited terms and conditions. These are partial conditions. Your participation is contingent on your signature on the full list of terms specified in the four-page Participant Information Form, which you can find on our website (or call us at 1-888-687-6235 and request a copy).

Arbitration

Any dispute concerning, relating or referring to these Terms and Conditions, to any literature concerning this trip, or the trip itself, shall be resolved exclusively by binding arbitration in San Francisco, California, according to the then existing rules of the American Arbitration Association. Such proceedings will be governed by substantive California law without regard to the California Arbitration Act.

Conditions of Participation

Your participation on a Mountain Travel Sobek trip is subject to the conditions stated in the four-page Participant Information Form, which includes the Agreement and Release from Liability and the Booking Conditions. Specific information on payment and cancellation policies is also contained within this document, as well as in our current catalog and on our website. We urge you to read this information carefully, and to call us at 1-888-MTSOBEK (687-6235) if you have any questions.

Why Mountain Travel Sobek is Your First Choice for Adventure

Mountain Travel Sobek is the pioneer in active adventure travel. No other adventure travel company can lay claim to that title. We were the first to take Americans trekking in Nepal, raft the wild rivers of Africa, and open up many previously inaccessible corners of the world to curious travelers. We set the standard for adventure travel and have a strong reputation for excellence that we do everything we can to maintain. Since we are the leading adventure company, we have a lot to live up to, so we make sure we provide safe, quality trips and the best customer service to our passengers.

References

Don't take our word for how great our trips are. We'll be happy to provide you with references of satisfied past travelers. Just give us a call at 1-888-MTSOBEK (687-6235).

Questions?

Feel free to call us at 1-888-MTSOBEK (687-6235) if you still have any questions or concerns. We're here to help you.

Note on Itinerary

Although we will do our very best to adhere to the itinerary schedule as listed, it is subject to change for numerous reasons beyond our control. Please read the Limitations of Liability and Booking Conditions in the four-page Participant Information Form.

This itinerary has been carefully designed for optimal value. You may wish to combine this tour with another or add extensions at the beginning or end of your trip. However, if you wish to customize this tour, other terms and conditions apply (ask us about information on customized adventures). Travel Agent commissions or any type of other discounts do not apply to this tour.

Conditions of Participation

Your participation on a Mountain Travel Sobek trip is subject to the conditions stated in the four-page Participant Information Form, which includes the Agreement and Release from Liability and the Booking Conditions. We urge you to read this information carefully, and to call us if you have any questions.

Note on Services

We often use local suppliers who provide services that may include transportation, equipment, logistic support, and other services (hotels, restaurants, etc.). We do not own or operate these independent suppliers. We work with service providers who share our commitment to safety and quality, and work closely with them to develop itineraries unique to Mountain Travel Sobek.

Ready to go? Signing up is easy!

Just call us at 1-888-MTSOBEK (687-6235) or make a reservation request online. Immediately after we receive your deposit, we will request your preferred dates. Upon confirmation (usually within four business days), we will send you a packet with all the information you need to get ready for your trip, including clothing recommendations, suggested reading lists, and other details.

Approximately 30 days before your departure, we'll send you detailed, step-by-step instructions, with emergency contact numbers, a detailed map, and other important information. Upon arrival at your destination, you will be met by your in-country host who will help orient you and describe what to expect in the week to come.