A good place for nature lovers – Esteros del Iberá National Park, Argentina

Located in north-eastern corner of Argentina, you will find the second largest wetland in the whole of South America. Only the Pantanal in Brazil covers a larger area. Pantanal is well known, but Iberá seems much lesser known. This national park turned out to be a gem. Rich in wildlife and probably one of the best places in Argentina to experience nature up close. It seems completely unspoiled and with little tourism. At least this was the case when my sister and I were here.

The access to the park might be time consuming and a bit strenuous, depending on the road conditions. The drive from Posadas took four hours because of the muddy road. We had arranged pick up in Posadas with a transportation firm. That turned out to be a good idea. We chose to stay in the small village of Carlos Pellegrini located at the edge of the laguna. There are lots of activities like walking trails, canoeing, boat tours etc. Besides doing all the hikes we also did a three-hour boat tour.

On the day of arrival, the first thing we did, was to buy the tickets at the visitor center. My sister together with this capybara gives a good idea of the size of an adult.

The national park
Esteros del Iberá was established in 2018 and is believed to become one of Argentina's top attractions. The restoration these wetlands has come to be realized by the Conservation Land Trust. Because of this organization several endangered species have been reintroduced. The giant river otter is now back because of this initiative to rewild the wetlands.

The entrance ticket cost 3300 pesos per person for 5 days. There are several walking trails of different lengths on this side of the laguna. You don't need a guide, but if you want to learn about plants and wildlife, it might be a good idea to arrange a walking tour with a guide. We did do all the trails and saw lots of animals like the capybara, deer, caimans, and lots of different species of birds. It was the first time I have ever seen a capybara, which is a huge rodent. I believe to have read that it’s the largest rodent in the world.

The wetlands are home to a large variety of animals: caimans, deer, hundreds of different species of birds, giant otter, howler monkey, jaguar, and the capybara. All are present in the park, even though we did not see all of them. The endangered jaguar is also one of the animals that can be found here, but one of the species we did not see at all.

Carlos Pellegrini
This small laid-back village that borders the wetlands is a good place to stay as a base for exploring the park. The village has wide gravel roads with hardly any motorized traffic. Walking the streets, you will encounter horses, cows, sheep, hens, ducks etc. All domestic animals roam freely. If you go to the edge of the lake, you will encounter caimans on land and lots of birds.

The municipal camping at the edge of the water, is where you meet up to book boat trips and kayaks. We chose a three-hour boat tour in the afternoon.

This tour was a highlight. The driver was an excellent guide to different areas of the laguna. The boat is motorized, but the driver soon slowed down the pace and very often he shut down the engine and just let the boat glide silently. The natural beauty of the lake is amazing. The driver was good at using his binoculars to spot wildlife, move the boat and point out the animals and birds.

To just glide silently on the water made it possible to only hear the birds or a caiman gliding into the water. The only sound was the click on our cameras. The guide did tell us the names of all the birds, but I don't recall all the names.

Although north-eastern Argentina is best known for Iguazú Falls, it is worth visiting this wetland area. Many organized tours include only a two days visit. I would recommend an extra day. There is a special calm atmosphere that does give time for a relaxing vacation.