Ibera Wetlands
Ibera Provincial Park And Ibera National Park (2018) Together Protect One Of The Largest Freshwater Wetlands In South America; Site Of Argentina'S Best Known Rewilding Project · Colonia Carlos Pellegrini, Corrientes
The Ibera wetlands are a vast, flat mosaic of marshes, lagoons and floating islands covering a huge area of Corrientes province, and they are the best place in Argentina to see big wildlife up close. Capybaras graze beside the paths, yacare caimans bask on the banks, marsh deer wade through the reeds and more than three hundred and fifty species of bird live here. Since the early 2000s the area has also been the site of one of the most ambitious rewilding projects anywhere: giant anteaters, pampas deer, red-and-green macaws, giant otters and, from 2021, jaguars have been returned to wetlands they had vanished from. The main gateway is Colonia Carlos Pellegrini, a small village on Laguna Ibera reached by long dirt roads, where boats go out at dawn and dusk among the floating vegetation. Other portals open onto different parts of the wetland. It feels remote because it is, and the jaguars are very rarely seen, but almost everything else is, and at close range.
Laguna Ibera, Colonia Carlos Pellegrini, Corrientes, Colonia Carlos Pellegrini, Corrientes, W3471, Argentina
The trails and lagoons are open in daylight; boat trips leave through the day and at dawn and dusk for wildlife. Access roads are unpaved and can close after heavy rain. Most lodges include excursions.