This Thursday, July 11, in the afternoon, the new works of the diablo’s throat circuit in the Iguazú Falls were inaugurated.
The Governor of Misiones Hugo Passalacqua, together with the Secretary of Tourism, Environment and Sports of the Nation Daniel Scioli, and the president of National Parks Cristian Larsen, among other officials, inaugurated the new works of the diablo’s throat Circuit in the city of Puerto Iguazú.
It should be noted that the circuit was closed for nine months due to the restoration works that were carried out due to the damage caused by the torrential rains in October of last year. The flood of the river was historic, exceeded 24,000 cubic meters and destroyed 90% of the structure of the circuit, which forced intense repair works to be carried out on the walkways, the commercial premises, the toilets, the roads and the access road.
In this regard, the governor of Misiones thanked the effort, dedication and commitment of each of the actors who were part of the recovery process of the catwalks of the diablo’s throat and recalled the importance of this Natural Wonder of the World for the province.
“Ago, for those who sailed, meeting the Falls meant a big problem, but for us today it is a huge solution, because tourism is the solution in Misiones. Of course, while recognizing the value of forest-industry, yerba mate, tea and other agricultural activities, but tourism has no roof for us,” he said.
“With these new platforms, now twice as many tourists will be able to enter as before, imagine what that means translated into economic figures for the work of each and every one of the missionaries,” said the governor.
For his part, the Secretary of Tourism, Sports and Environment of the Nation Daniel Scioli stressed that this great achievement reflects the value that Misiones gives to tourism, placing it as one of the highest priority issues in its State policy agenda. “There has been a long-awaited day for the missionaries,” he said.
He also highlighted that the rehabilitation of the Devil’s Throat will awaken a great tourist movement throughout the country and will generate a positive impact on the generation of employment, two great news for the Argentine economy in the difficult economic context it is going through.
The official also thanked the work and commitment of the Park Rangers in their task of contributing to the conservation of the environment and assured that the national government is working to continue promoting tourism in its various areas.
At the event, the new mayor of the Iguazú National Park, José María Hervás, was also officially appointed, who pledged to maintain and improve the park’s infrastructure to ensure a safe and pleasant experience for all visitors.
They were also present at the reopening of the catwalks, the Minister of Tourism of Missions José María Arrúa; the Minister of Ecology of Missions, Martín Recamán; the mayor of Puerto Iguazú Claudio Filippa; the vice president of the Directory of the Administration of National Parks Marcelo Forgione; the national senator Carlos Arce; the national senator Sonia Rojas Decut; the national deputy Yamila Ruiz; the national deputy Carlos Fernández; the national deputy for the province of Buenos Aires Hernan Lombardi; among other local, provincial and national authorities, and representatives of the tourism sector.
Iguazú Falls, one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature
It should be noted that the concessionary company of the services in the Cataratas area, Iguazú Argentina S.A, was in charge of carrying out the important works to guarantee the safety and quality of the walkways and the balcony of the diablo’s throat in the Iguazú Falls, one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. The tasks began during 2023 and ended at the beginning of this year.
These actions not only allowed the recovery of the walkways damaged by the strong storms that were experienced during 2023, but also allowed the availability of space and services within the National Park to be tripled, which generates the possibility of increasing the entry capacity of tourists, with an eye on environmental care, ecological recovery and the assembly of infrastructure that first and foremost conserves nature.
The general manager of the concessionary company Iguazú Argentina S.A, Roberto Enriquez, thanked the support of the provincial Government, the Directory of National Parks and the national Government during this hard work. “It was not an easy recovery, it was one of the largest in history and implied that practically the 1,200 meters of the walkway were destroyed. It was a titanic task, but today we are happy because we were able to achieve it,” he said.
“This flood, which was one of the largest in history, had the advantage of a very important project that was born in the 90s with this concession of public works. It is a system of walkways that has concrete piles, anchored to the riverbed with a metal structure composed of railings, floors and racks. Since they are refutable, in this type of climatic event the metal structure could be recovered in large part, once the flood was overcome,” he explained.
“The work between the public-private sector and the advances already made so far, will allow us to have the missing infrastructure to be able to triple the number of visitors in the future. We aspire to have the double route of entry and exit to the Devil’s Throat, which will allow a constant, permanent and circular flow of rail transport,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the president of the Board of Directors of the National Parks Administration, Cristian Larsen, said “we are proud as Argentines to have one of the New 7 Natural Wonders of the World in Puerto Iguazú. Beyond the scenic beauty, the Iguazú National Park has a historical value in our country because together with the Nahuel Huapi National Park, during the last century, they made Argentina the first Latin American country to have a system of protected areas.”
And it ended “as a park administration we have two great challenges. On the one hand, take care of our national parks and their protected areas. And on the other hand, take actions to improve the experience of all the people who visit us every day, not only in the Falls, but in each and every one of the 55 protected areas we have. That is why we believe, from this new management, that it is very important to establish a virtuous circle between conservation and tourism”.