Hotel das Cataratas

Some places simply cannot be experienced properly on a day trip. Iguassu Falls is one of them. Spanning nearly three kilometres and thundering with the force of almost half the Iguazu River plunging into the Devil's Throat gorge, these UNESCO World Heritage falls demand time, and the privilege of seeing them without crowds.

Hotel das Cataratas is the only property inside the Brazilian national park, positioned just a two-minute walk from the falls themselves. This 193-room Portuguese-colonial hotel, managed by Belmond, maintains an atmosphere of old-world elegance with hand-painted azulejo tiles, artwork depicting local flora and fauna, and verandas shaded by subtropical palms.

The real magic happens at dawn. While other visitors queue at the park gates, hotel guests join a naturalist-led walk through the misty trails as the first light catches the spray rising 120 metres above the Devil's Throat. Watching rainbows form in near-silence as toucans and giant butterflies emerge is what guests remember most. During full moons, exclusive night walks reveal the rare phenomenon of lunar rainbows dancing in the falls' mist.

Days unfold at a leisurely pace: two swimming pools set among tropical gardens, the Ipê Grill serving flame-grilled specialties poolside, the Itaipu Restaurant's veranda dining, and a spa offering Amazon rainforest-inspired treatments. For adventure, the hotel arranges white-water rafting below the falls, helicopter flights over the gorge, and jungle treks through some of the most biodiverse Atlantic Forest remaining on Earth.

Only eleven rooms offer direct falls views. Book the Deluxe Falls View or Cataratas Suite if you want to hear the thunder from your balcony. But the real privilege here isn't the room; it's having exclusive access to this natural wonder at sunrise and sunset, when the falls belong to you alone.