Iberá National Park

Iberá National Park is a protected area in Corrientes Province, Argentina, that conserves a vast complex of freshwater wetlands known as the Iberá Wetlands. It protects extensive marshes, lagoons and wetland islands that are among the largest in South America.

The park is valued for wildlife viewing-visitors come for boat trips and guided excursions to see species such as capybara, caiman, marsh deer and large bird populations across the lagoons. Small on-site settlements and estancias provide lodging and guided wildlife tours, and routes across the wetlands include boat and four-wheel-drive access.

The national park was created from large private and public landholdings to conserve the Iberá system and to re-establish populations of native fauna; conservation and rewilding projects have been central to its recent management. The area has shifted from ranching and pasture toward protected-area management and ecotourism in the 21st century.

Iberá National Park sits in northeastern Argentina’s Corrientes Province, within the low-lying floodplain of the Paraná River basin. The park is reached from provincial towns such as Colonia Carlos Pellegrini and the city of Mercedes, which serve as regional access points.

• Core habitat: The park centers on extensive freshwater marshes, lagoons and islands that support large populations of birds, capybara, caiman and other wetland species, and it is one of Argentina's most important wetland conservation areas.
• Visitor gateway: Colonia Carlos Pellegrini is the main visitor village inside the wetlands and is commonly used for boat-based wildlife viewing on lagoons and guided drives across seasonal marshes.

What to See #

• Colonia Carlos Pellegrini: A small riverside village and gateway settlement used by many visitors as a base for tours, boat trips, and jeep excursions into the wetlands.
• Iberá Wetlands: A large freshwater wetland system of interconnected lagoons, marshes and raised islands that forms the ecological heart of the national park and supports dense populations of aquatic wildlife and birds.