Iguassu Falls: A Helicopter Tour

Flying over Iguassu: My First Helicopter Experience

If ever there was a place to experience my first helicopter flight, Iguassu was certainly a memorable one! We made it our mission to explore the falls from every angle: going through the falls on the Macuco Safari, seeing the parks from Brazil and Argentina, and seeing the falls from overhead.

We flew with Helisul, the main operator for panoramic flights over the falls. This company is an absolute machine. No reservations were required in advance. We walked in (they’re open from 9AM to 5PM), paid our R$350 per person fee (about $115 per person) for the 10 minute flight, and boarded the next available flight with two other people in tow.

The view from the helicopter added a super cool perspective to the falls. We hadn’t yet seen the falls from the Brazilian and Argentine sides when taking in the flight, but seeing the park from overhead gave us a very grand perspective on everything. From above, the falls are just a victim of gravity; water that’s being vacuumed into a massive crevice in the earth, and it’s a pretty impressive force to watch. The mist billowing from the falls is so extreme that from a distance it looks like the waterfalls are steaming.

The view of our hotel was pretty remarkable as well, too. The Belmond’s location is top-notch and you can visibly see that from overhead. This gorgeous property is plopped right in the middle of a sea of trees and water.

If you’re looking for a pretty mind-blowing first time helicopter experience, this is definitely a cool opportunity! The weather wasn’t great in our case but it was still pretty remarkable to witness. There’s also an awesome helicopter opportunity at Sugarloaf that provides gorgeous views of the beaches, Christ the Redeemer, etc. for about the same price. As gorgeous as this experience was (would totally do it again!), I think the expanses and landscape that you’d see in Rio may be even more spectacular!

Have you done a helicopter tour? Where was it, and did you think it was worth the money?

xo from Brazil,