Iguazú National Park remains open, but its best-known walkway does not, and what makes this closure different is that the structure has not simply been closed to the public. Crews began dismantling the Devil’s Throat circuit on Monday 3 August 2026 because of El Niño: the river is expected to rise to a level that would put the walkways built out over it, and the visitors standing on them, at risk.
If you already have this trip booked, the closure affects one part of your day rather than the day itself. Iguazú National Park continues to operate on its usual schedule, the day trip from Buenos Aires runs exactly as before, and what you will not see is the Devil’s Throat itself, the catwalk across the river and the balcony at the end of it.
Circuits and attractions that remain open
The closure is confined to the Devil’s Throat. The remainder of the Argentine park continues to operate normally, since none of them span the river the way this one does:
- The Upper Circuit and the Lower Circuit, which together take in most of the viewpoints visitors photograph
- The Macuco Trail and the Green Trail
- The ecological train, the “Yvyrá Retá” visitor centre, Yaguareté Territory, the Old Hotel Cataratas exhibition, and the park’s shops and restaurants
The Gran Aventura boat ride is also unaffected, since it operates on the lower river rather than the upper gorge.
The official announcement
Iguazú Argentina, the private company that runs the park’s services under concession, circulated the following notice to agencies and partners on 31 July:
Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, July 31, 2026
IMPORTANT NOTICE: DEVIL’S THROAT CIRCUIT CLOSURE
Dear agencies and partners of the Iguazú Falls destination:
We would like to inform you that, starting Monday, August 3, the Devil’s Throat Circuit will remain closed indefinitely.
The decision was announced this Thursday, July 30, following meetings between authorities and technical experts from Iguazú National Park and the concessionaire Iguazú Argentina S.A., due to weather forecasts for northern Argentina, southern Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, which indicate a significant increase in rainfall as a result of the “El Niño” (ENSO) phenomenon.
The forecast anticipates extraordinary rises in the Iguazú River over the coming months, and significant excess water is expected during September and October, which could put the circuit’s structures at risk.
In response to this situation, Iguazú Argentina S.A. will implement a specific protocol starting Monday, August 3, which will last approximately 40 days and will involve removing the circuit’s flooring and railings, with the aim of preserving the components for their subsequent reinstallation.
We invite you to actively support the promotion of the destination, reinforcing the message that Iguazú National Park remains open, with its other attractions available to visitors: the “Yvyrá Retá” Visitor Center, Yaguareté Territory, Jungle Ecological Train, Lower Circuit, Upper Circuit, Green Trail, Macuco Trail, the Old Hotel Cataratas Historical Exhibition, souvenir shops, and dining establishments.
We thank everyone for their support and understanding in the face of this unusual weather situation. We continue to work with our usual commitment to protecting the safety of visitors and staff, as well as respecting the nature and biodiversity that characterize the Falls, a Natural World Heritage Site.
Iguazú Argentina S.A., official notice, 31 July 2026
Expected timeline for the reopening
For the moment, no reopening date has been announced. The 40 days refer to the removal of the circuit’s flooring and railings rather than the duration of the closure. That work concludes around mid-September, which falls inside the September and October window in which the concessionaire expects the highest water.
Reinstallation is a separate operation that Argentine press coverage puts at a minimum of 60 days, and it cannot begin until the water has receded and remained low, which is why the same reports place the earliest realistic reopening at the end of the year.
Park authorities have been explicit about their reasoning, stating that they do not intend to begin reinstallation only to dismantle the structure again days later. The schedule will therefore be set by river readings coming in from Brazil rather than by a fixed date.
If you are planning a visit, the sensible approach is to book for the falls as a whole rather than for the Devil’s Throat in particular. Should that walkway be the specific reason for your trip, it is worth waiting for the park to confirm a reopening before committing to flights.
El Niño and its effect on the Iguazú basin
El Niño is a periodic warming of the equatorial Pacific along the western coast of South America. It is the warm phase of a broader cycle known as ENSO, whose cool phase is referred to as La Niña.
The underlying mechanism is relatively straightforward. Trade winds ordinarily drive warm surface water westward across the Pacific, and when those winds weaken, the warm water returns eastward, producing a shift in ocean temperature substantial enough to redistribute rainfall and atmospheric pressure well beyond the Pacific itself. Episodes occur at intervals of two to seven years and vary considerably in intensity.
In southeastern South America, the effect shows up as rain, with southern Brazil and northern Argentina running wetter than average, and with downpours that have repeatedly produced flooding across Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil. The connection to the falls is geographic, since the Iguazú River draws its water from the highlands on the Brazilian side, and rainfall in that catchment reaches the falls as a swollen river several days later.
