Do the Falls close on public holidays?

No. Both parks open every day of the year, including holidays and Christmas. What changes on a holiday is the crowd, not the opening.

Does the park close when it rains?

No. Rain does not close the park. Walkways stay open (the exception is a major river flood, like October 2026), the view gets more dramatic and the deck gets slippery. A rain poncho beats an umbrella, because it keeps your hands free.

Is the Devil's Throat open?

Not on the Argentine side: it has been closed since 3 August 2026, with the structures removed as a precaution against the flood, and there is no reopening date. The Upper and Lower trails, which closed during the October flood, reopened on 15 Oct. On the Brazilian side, the walkway facing the Devil's Throat has been closed since 11 Oct.

At what flow does the Brazilian park close the walkway?

Closure usually happens when flow approaches 9 million litres per second. At the peak of the 11 September 2026 flood the ANA gauge at Hotel Cataratas read 8,936 m³/s, that is 8.9 million litres per second, and the walkway was closed. The 29 September reading is 3,750 m³/s, well below the threshold. In the October 2026 flood the river reached 15,800 m³/s on 14 Oct, the highest reading in our series, and on 17 Oct it still read 9,058 m³/s; the walkway has been closed since 11 Oct.

Are Iguazu Falls open today? Status and opening hours

Yes, both sides are open (status confirmed on 16 Oct 2026), but with sections closed by the flood: on the Brazilian side the walkway has been closed since 11 Oct; on the Argentine side the Upper and Lower trails reopened on 15 Oct and the Devil's Throat has been closed since 3 August. Outside floods, both parks open every day.

Direct answer: Yes, with sections closed (status confirmed on 16 Oct 2026). The Brazilian side is open, with the Falls Trail and the upper viewpoints working, but the walkway has been closed since 11 Oct (railings removed since 13 Oct), as are the lower Espaço Naipi viewpoint, the São João Circuit, Espaço Usina, the Poço Preto path and the Canafístula trail; the Bananeiras path is closed for works. The Argentine side reopened the Lower and Upper trails on 15 Oct; the Verde and Macuco paths and the Devil's Throat (since 3 August) remain closed. With more heavy rain forecast for 21 to 25 Oct, this can change: check Iguazu Falls today.

Opening hours on both sides

Park	Opens	Last entry	Closes
Brazil (Mon-Fri)	9:00	16:00	17:30
Brazil (Sat, Sun, holidays)	8:30	16:00	17:30
Argentina (daily)	8:00	around 16:00	18:00

On the Argentine side the last ecological train towards the Throat leaves around 15:30. More on crowd flow in what time to go to avoid queues.

What can actually close

Not the park, the section. And the reason is almost always the same: the flow of the Iguaçu river.

Brazilian side: walkway closure usually happens when flow approaches 9 million litres per second (9,000 m³/s). The historical average is 1.5 million L/s, so that is six times normal. In extreme floods, such as the 24,000 m³/s of October 2023, closures go further.
Argentine side: the Devil's Throat has been closed since 3 August 2026. The walkways were dismantled as a precaution against flooding, and they only go back once measurements say it is safe. The rest of the park (Upper and Lower circuits, trails, train) keeps running. Detail in Devil's Throat closed. Exception: in an extreme flood the Argentine side can restrict every sector, as it did on 12 October 2026.

Right now: the October 2026 flood

We measure the Iguazu River flow directly from the Brazilian National Water Agency (ANA) gauge next to the Hotel das Cataratas, inside the park.

Peak: 15,800 m³/s at 4 pm on 14 Oct 2026, the highest reading in the series Guia 3 has tracked since June 2026, more than ten times the long-term average of 1,500 m³/s.
Now: the river is falling, at 9,058 m³/s at 5 pm on 17 Oct: still six times the average and above the Brazilian side's walkway closure threshold of about 8,500 m³/s.
Next days: the forecast (Open-Meteo, 18 Oct) shows about 128 mm of rain in Foz between 21 and 25 Oct, with the river still high. A new rise from 23 Oct is likely.
Brazilian side: walkway closed since 8 am on 11 Oct and railings removed since 13 Oct; the lower Espaço Naipi viewpoint, São João Circuit, Espaço Usina, Poço Preto path and Canafístula trail closed by the flood; the Bananeiras path closed for works. The park stays open, with the Falls Trail and the upper viewpoints.
Argentine side: closed every sector on 12 Oct, reopened on 13 Oct, closed the trails again on 14 Oct and reopened the Lower and Upper trails on 15 Oct (Iguazú National Park and concessionaire). The Verde and Macuco paths and the Devil's Throat, closed since 3 August, remain shut.

Hourly flow is on Iguazu Falls today.

Rain closes nothing

This is the most common misunderstanding. Rain does not close the park on either side. What changes is comfort: slippery decking, thicker spray and less distant visibility. A poncho works better than an umbrella, because it frees your hands on wet walkways.

Before you set out

Brazilian side ticket: prices and exemptions in Iguazu Falls tickets.
Argentine side ticket: fares by nationality and the 50% second-day discount in Iguazú National Park entrance.
Which side to pick if you only have one day: the two sides compared.

Source: our own Iguaçu river measurement (ANA gauge, Hotel Cataratas, inside the national park), concessionaire Urbia+Cataratas (Brazilian side), Iguazú Argentina and the National Parks Administration (Argentine side).

Are Iguazu Falls open today?