Gateway to Laguna Luna, the largest in the Iberá system
318 km from Corrientes, 120 km from Posadas, 100 km from Ituzaingó via RN12, 125 km from Santo Tomé via RN14 and 80 km from Virasoro via RP37. The portal is on the gravel RP41, in the Galarza settlement.
Located to the east of the Esteros del Iberá. You can navigate Laguna Galarza and Laguna Luna (the largest in the Iberá system) with night outings. The portal has an ecotourism lodge.
Activities: wildlife watching, walks, visits to yerba mate estates, Jesuit ruins and stays at ranches.
How to get there
Gravel RP 41. Distances: Corrientes 318 km · Ituzaingó 100 km · Posadas 120 km · Santo Tomé 125 km · Virasoro 80 km.
What to do
- 🛥️ Boating on lagoons and wetlands
- 🌙 Night boating
- 🦜 Birdwatching
- 🌿 Native flora and fauna
- 🥾 Daytime hiking
- 🌙 Night hiking
- 🚗 4×4 transfers
- 🌾 Visit to yerba mate growers
- 🏛️ Jesuit ruins
What to see in Paraje Galarza
- 🌊 Laguna Luna, the largest in the Iberá
- 🏛️ Jesuit ruins (17th to 18th centuries)
- 🌿 Yerba mate estates
Wildlife you will see
- Capybara
- Caiman
- Maned Wolf
- Cocoi Heron
- Southern Screamer
- Marsh Deer
- Lagoon birds
Where to sleep and eat
Ecotourism lodging within the portal. Ecotourism lodges and ranches in the immediate surroundings. Guides available in Spanish, English and Portuguese.
Featured places to stay
Best time to visit
April to October. The nights from May to August are ideal for night hiking and stargazing.
With no light pollution and Starlight Reserve skies, walking through Galarza at night is a one-of-a-kind experience: wetland sounds, the silhouettes of animals and a shower of stars over Laguna Luna.
The portal in photos
Portal Galarza: the largest lagoon of the Iberá and the Starlight sky
Laguna Luna, toured by boat from Portal Galarza, is the largest in the Iberá system. Unlike Laguna Iberá at Carlos Pellegrini, which is more contained and ringed by boardwalks, the Luna is an open sheet of water that can take more than two hours to cover in full. Sailing it at night, under a sky declared a Starlight Reserve, is one of the most singular experiences in the Iberá.
Galarza is one of the eastern portals, reachable from Posadas (120 km) and Ituzaingó (100 km) along RP 41, which makes it a natural option for those arriving at the Iberá from the Litoral or from Misiones rather than from Buenos Aires. The access road is the gravel RP 41 and a high-clearance vehicle is recommended; check the state of the road before setting out, especially in the rainy season.
The portal has ecotourism lodging within the hamlet and estancias in the immediate surroundings. Its guides speak Spanish, English and Portuguese, which makes it especially accessible for foreign visitors arriving from Brazil or Paraguay. One stop worth making when passing through the area: the 17th and 18th century Jesuit ruins and the yerba mate establishments that can be visited along the route.
Planning for Portal Galarza
The minimum stay is two nights, to enjoy both the daytime and the night-time sailing. The recommended season is April to October, when the night sky is clearer and temperatures are cool. May to August are especially good for night hiking: the sounds of the wetland after dark, the silhouettes of animals in torchlight and the shower of stars over Laguna Luna add up to an experience that is hard to find anywhere else in the country.
Other portals of the Iberá
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