One of our favourite excursions at Awasi Iguazu is setting out from our Relais & Chateaux lodge and heading along the beautiful red dirt road (as pictured below) to the Awasi private reserve at Yacu-i.
Exploring the area around Iguazu with your Awasi private guide
Here we have various options for guests with their private guide, including a jungle trek and a kayak floating along the calm waters of the Yacu-i Creek.
After an active morning, we like to surprise our guests with a BBQ lunch in our wooden decking area. This is a peaceful spot overlooking the creek where guests can enjoy the sounds of nature as they eat a freshly prepared lunch.
The Awasi decking at the Yacu-i Private Reserve. Photo by Daniella Mac Adden
Among the cuts of Argentinian beef and vegetables cooked in foil, a speciality among the Awasi team is the local delicacy chipá caburé or chipa mbocá (mbocá is a word from the indigenous Guaraní community, and it means “to stir”).
Chipa is a Guarani food that is eaten daily in Paraguay and Northern Argentina, especially in the provinces of Corrientes, Misiones and Chaco.
The Awasi picnic lunch at Yacu-i including chipa
Standard chipa it is round in form, like a bread bun, and chipa caburé is the variation that is cooked on a stick.
Made from a dough of cassava starch, eggs, fat and cheese the cylindric shape is created by moulding it around a stick, typically a bamboo branch which is called tacuara.
The ingredients are basically the same as the chipá or cheese bread that is consumed daily in the region, but this version is typically grilled over an open fire.
Ingredients:
● 500 gr of cassava starch
● 500 gr of grated Parmesan cheese ● 160 gr of cubed butter, very cold ● 6 eggs
● 6 gr of salt
● A little milk, if necessary
Process:
● In a bowl place the cassava starch, salt, grated cheese and cold butter. Mix until disarming, forming a sandblasting.
● Add the eggs and form the dough. If it is too dry, add some milk slowly.
● Separate approximately 400 gr of dough, roll out in a rectangular shape and cover a clean wooden stick with it. Repeat with remaining dough on other sticks.
● Refrigerate for about 1 hour before putting it on the grill for it to conserve its shape better.
● Grill the dough-covered wooden sticks over medium – strong embers for approximately 25- 30 minutes or until crispy and golden.
Building up an appetite kayaking on the Yacu-i Creek
Each room at all three Awasi lodges is given a private guide and 4×4 vehicle. This means our guests can explore the surrounding areas at their own pace and according to their particular interests.
Most people come to Iguazu for the falls (Awasi guests enjoy early access so they can enjoy the Iguazu Falls before the crowds pour in), but we have a range of activities that show you the best of the surrounding area as well. After all, you are visiting the Atlantic Rainforest, one of the most ecologically diverse areas in the world, second only to the Amazon.
Awasi Iguazu is a Relais & Chateaux lodge in Northern Argentina, just 15 minutes from the Iguazu Falls. With just 14 villas, guests are given a vehicle and private guide for the duration of their stay.
We recommend spending at least 3 nights so you can explore the Atlantic Rainforest, visit both sides of the Iguazu Falls (we do excursions on both the Argentinian and Brazilian sides of the falls) and make the most of your villa complete with a plunge pool.