Argentina

La Alegría Eco Lodge - Misiones, Iguazu Area

This a new small and personalized lodge immersed in the heart of the Argentine subtropical Parana forest, in northeastern province of Misiones. This is the region with the greatest biodiversity in the country: broad rivers, clear-water streams and cascades, red soil and bright green jungle full of giant and ancient trees. It has peculiar endemic flora and a significant presence of wildlife, with more than 100 tree species, over 2,000 identified plants, and more than 400 birds, mammals and reptiles.

The rainforest of Misiones consists of five levels of distinctive bio-systems, ranging from the canopy, over 40 meters high, and descending to various levels of trees down to the herbaceous plants on the ground. The lodge is named after the "La Alegría" fall, a clear-water course 12 meters high and with a natural pool tucked in the jungle, ideal for a fresh swim after a horse ride. Since the lodge sits on privately owned land, guests are far from other tourists.

Guests are hosted by owners Patricia Garcia and Marcelo Geier, who welcome you into their home as part of the family. They will join you for dinner in the evenings, share with you stories, traditions and their love for this pristine habitat. They can accommodate a maximum of 6 guests, so it is never crowded; parties range from couples and honeymooners to families and friends. You are your own private party, you may take as much or as little time as you like for precious photographs - no need to rush to keep up with the group, you are the group!

Location: San Pedro, km 80 of Provincial Route No. 17, Province of Misiones. 26^a26.617' S, 053^a58.394' W, in the heart of moist tropical broadleaf Parana forest.

How to get there: Daily commercial 1 hour 50 minutes flights on Aerolineas Argentinas and Lapa airlines from Buenos Aires to Puerto Iguazu plus 1 1/2 hour drive or fly to Posadas airport, and 250 kilometer drive to the lodge.

Accommodation: Two wooden cabins provide comfortable accommodation with rustic details. One cabin has 3 bedrooms, a living room, a dining-room, a winter-garden, a bathroom and a kitchen. The other has 2 bedrooms, a living-room - dining-room, a winter garden, a bathroom and kitchen. During the wintertime, wood stoves provide the heating, as in colonial times.

At night a 20 Kw 220V/50Hz generator provides electricity, which is turned off before going to bed. Small kerosene lamps are used during the night. There is a solarium decorated with plants, orchids and palms of the rainforest.

The clear fresh swimming-pool water comes from a near by clear watercourse, the pump for which is a unique hydraulic battering ram, which needs no electricity or engine, and runs 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.

The superb food is a combination of fine European cuisine and creative home-style cooking. Most of the food products are home grown at La Alegría, such as red meat (beef, pork, lamb), poultry (chicken, duck, geese), eggs, vegetables, etc; allowing guests to enjoy natural, ecological home-made meals.

Activities: The main purpose of La Alegría is for Patricia and Marcelo to share with guests their nature and its resources, allowing them to either simply relax or cram their days with activity. Everything is included here. Daily programs are truly personalized experiences. Rather than visiting large places with other tourists, your conversations are with your hosts who have inhabited this land for generations. You will return home with new lifetime friends.

Your hosts custom-design your stay: horseback riding through the rainforest, hiking or mountain biking through virgin wilderness observing wildlife. Take walking photo safaris, discovering cascades hidden in the forest, four-wheel drives and quad bikes in the jungle, exploring local villages, relaxing, strolling through gardens, visits to several clear water courses and falls, and bird-watching.

There are many log bridges on the road into the lodge, and, depending on the season, you will need a 4WD vehicle for the 10 kilometers of driveway in through the rainforest, traversing several watercourses.

From here you will go on to visit the fabulous Iguazu Falls.