The Ñacunday National Park that surrounds the falls is a lush subtropical forest packed with wildlife. Walking the jungle trails, visitors might spot brightly coloured toucans or hear the screech of parakeets overhead. The sound of the falls travels a long way through the trees before you even see the water.
The river's name, like so many names in Paraguay, comes from the Guaraní language - the indigenous language spoken by the Guaraní people, which is still an official language of Paraguay alongside Spanish. Guaraní names often describe the sounds or look of a place, and Ñacunday means something like 'where there are many bees', which gives you a hint about just how many flowering plants grow along its banks.
Unlike Iguazú Falls, Ñacunday is a quieter, less-visited place - more of a local secret. Paraguayan families visit on weekends for picnics, swimming in the river pools, and birdwatching. It is the kind of place where you can sit on a rock, watch the water thunder past, and feel very small in the best possible way.