The great Iguazú Falls makes it one of Argentina’s main tourist destinations. The subtropical jungle and the Jesuitical ruins are some of the other reasons to visit this province colored by its red soil and green vegetation.

Surrounded by water courses, Misiones is located in the northeast of Argentina. Its borders are almost completely made of rivers: the Iguazú in the north, the Paraná in the west, the Pepirí Guazú and Uruguay in the east and the Chirimay at south. It borders Brazil at north and Paraguay in the west. A small part of its southern territory borders Corrientes province. Close to Brazil and Paraguay- Argentina’s MERCOSUR partners- Misiones holds a strategic position standing as an important channel for people and merchandise flow.

The province’s name comes from the Jesuit Missions that settled during the years of the Spanish conquest. The proselytization and cultural asimilation the Society of Jesus worked over the Guaraní native culture have marked the history of Misiones. Proof of this can be found in the ruins of the reductions built by European missionaries with the help of the natives in the XVII century.

A big part of Misiones has a very profuse biodiversity. In the jungle there are hundreds of plants and vertebrates like fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, mammals, and insects. Iron oxide is the cause of the soil’s characteristic red color. With its humid subtropical climate, most of Misiones is very apt for agriculture, especially for forestry.

Apart from the waterfalls, the Jesuit missions are also worth visiting, especially the ones at San Ignacio which have been preserved better than the other ones. Posadas, the capital city -1.300 km from Buenos Aires- has its own airport (as Puerto Iguazu also does) and works as a connecting point for many national and international destinations.

There are plenty of interesting sites in the cities of Oberá, Montecarlo, and Eldorado, such as the Berrondo Fall(Oberá), the Küppers and Elena Falls (both in Eldorado) and the Caraguata-í island (Montecarlo). Misiones has welcomed thousands of immigrants from Central Europe. Their cultural habits have lived on in typical holidays, especially in the National Immigrant Holiday, which takes place in Oberá.

The lodging options include hotels of all categories. The new ecolodges in the jungle also stand out, together with cabins, inns, and camping sites.

Economy
Misiones is an important producer of yerba mate –a very popular infusion in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay-, as well as tobacco, tea, wood, citrus fruits and vegetables. In fact, Argentina’s yerba mate plantations are mostly concentrated in Misiones. The tobacco sector is made of smallholding farmers. Tapioca, corn, soy, beans and rice are also grown. These are self sufficient farming products that can also be sold if there is a surplus existence. Some of the permanent cultivations are yerba mate, tea (Misiones is Argentina’s main tea producer, growing more than 95% of the total), tung (originally an Asian oil plant) and citrus fruits.

The Iguazu Falls
Located at the north of the province, The Iguazu Falls are one of Argentina’s most beautiful sites. They are located in the Iguazu National Park, 18 km from Puerto Iguazu. They are thousands of years old. They add up to a total of 275 falls as high as 70 m, supplied by the Iguazu River’s flow. The falls’ different sections can be admired from footbridges with spectacular views.

The Garganta del Diablo is the main fall, which can be accessed on an ecological train that takes a 7 km tour inside the park. The Falls Train surrounds a margin of the Iguazu River in direct contact with the Misiones jungle and stops at the Garganta Terminal. From there, the footbridge leads to the balconies that were built on the edge of the fall, 90 m high.

The falls can also be admired from the so-called “small-circuit” or from small boats. The most famous islands, San Martin and Isla Grande, split the river into two branches that reunite shortly ahead after falling through lava and basalt rock formations and reaching the Garganta del Diablo, where the river continues and flows into the Paraná River. From there, and through the Paraguay River, it becomes a part of the La Plata Basin. On the margins of the Paraná River, 15 km from the Iguazu National Park, is the Iguazu Forest, a jungle reservation, which like many other province’s nature sites, is ideal for adventure tourism.

Water is a very important natural resource in Misiones. The province is surrounded by five rivers, three of which are of vital importance: the Paraná, the Uruguay, and the Iguazú. The other two are the San Antonio and Pepirí Guazú. more...

Adventure tourism
Misiones’ water courses and its jungle’s animals and vegetation make it an ideal destination for adventure tourism.

Some recommended tours are the 4x4 rallies through red soil roads, and extreme sports like zip-line, rappel and floating. Survivor tourism activities in the middle of the jungle can also be done. Flora and fauna observation walks, horse rides, and river or creek canoeing are all very common activities among tourists staying in farms or country houses.

Jesuit Heritage
Abandoned in 1767 when the Society of Jesus members were banished from America, the Jesuit reductions are samples of incalculable heritage value. The remains of four of them are still preserved in Misiones. They are the San Ignacio Miní, Santa María La Mayor, Loreto and Santa Ana reductions. They’re all part of the International Jesuit Missions Circuit, and a UNESCO World Heritage since 1984. According to experts, the San Ignacio ruins are the most magnificent ones. In the area there also stands the Peñon del Teyucuaré Provincial Park. The house where Urugayan writer Horacio Quiroga was inspired to write many of his acclaimed short stories has been turned into a museum and has become another one of the area’s tourist sites.

The Yerba Mate Route
Every detail of the yerba mate –of which Argentina is the main producer-, can be seen in a tour in which people can learn the manufacturing and packaging techniques of this product as well as its multiple uses in the food industry. This project seeks to boost gastronomic tourism and strengthen agro industrial production facilities that cultivate yerba mate, which is used for making the mate infusion, drank mostly in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The circuit has been regarded as a MERCOSUR Alimentary Route and has reinstall the value on this product, which is one of Argentina’s cultural and gastronomic heritages.

It is developed throughtout Misiones and the neighbouring province of Corrientes, in yerbatales and production facilities, as well as mills and restaurants. The towns of Misiones that constitute this route are Apóstoles, San José, Las Tunas, Tres Capones, Concepción de la Sierra, Santa María, Itacaruaré, San Javier and Leandro N. Alem.

Not only the farming and economic aspects of yerba mate can be seen along the way. Also its organic properties and the way it is used for making alfajores (a typical Argentine candy), cocktails, liquors, cakes and ice cream. The route includes monuments, churches and museums, and some of the region’s typical food products, such as tapioca and river fish of different kinds.

The House of Mate and the Juan Szychowski Museum are some of the tourist sites in Apóstoles. Some of Misiones yerba mate facilities are Cooperativa Santo Pipó (Santo Pipó), Grupo Amanda (Apóstoles), Gerula S. A. (Apóstoles), Hreñuk S.A. (Apóstoles) and the Establecimiento Urrutia (Oberá).

Celebrations and cultural festivals
Many festivals related to culture, gastronomy and production take place in Misiones all through the year. Some of them are the National Tea Festival in Campo Viera; the National Yerba Mate Festival in Apóstoles, the National Immigrant Festival in Oberá; the National Orchid Festival in Montecarlo; the National Seabord Music Festival in Posadas; the Provintial Peach Festival in Cerro Azul; the National Beer Festival in Leandro N. Alem: and the National Wood Festival in San Vicente.