Should be one of the recognised Natural Wonders (Niagara Falls)

Member Name: Tupps

Product:	Niagara Falls
Date:	03/06/09 (28 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nature at its most powerful

Disadvantages: Tacky tourist attractions

Breathtaking. Magnificent. Awesome. Just a few of the many words that have been used to describe Niagara Falls and all of them true. But Niagara Falls is such a spectacle that it's difficult really to try to sum it up in words. You just have to see it and feel it for yourself. Because it is so much more than a visual feast.

I used to work in the travel industry and people used to say, when booking trips to Niagara, "I bet it's an amazing sight" and that's true, it is. But it's so much more than that; it's an invasion of the senses (which sounds a bit cliched I know) but I think people often forget about the sounds, smells, etc. of a place.

When I first saw Niagara I thought "wow" but my overwhelming memory of it is the noise. I visited 5 years ago and I can still recall the noise of SO much water crashing over the edge and meeting the river below.

The Maid of the Mist boat trip is fantastic. They issue everyone with plastic macs (they looked a bit like bright blue bin liners) and, in an effort to look macho, quite a few blokes just carry them instead of putting them on; by the time we got off our boat everyone had donned them. You get SO wet! And that's just from the spray - you actually don't go that close to the falls; you couldn't, of course, so much water coming down on top of you would sink the boat in a nano second and it would never resurface. But it is amazing to feel how soaked you get and then stand and watch other boats afterwards and notice how far away from the falls they are. The spray from the falls is enough to soak you through. And, while on the boat, you have to shout to make yourself heard. My husband and I visited Niagara as part of our honeymoon and we were yelling at the tops of our voices "Amazing isn't it?!" Not quite the romantic vision I'd had in my mind's eye!

There was a rainbow dancing about in the mist too; there's nearly always a rainbow at the falls and it all adds to the beauty of it.

It's true that the Canadian side of the falls (the horseshoe) is much better than the American side and it certainly has the most visitors. I was a bit disappointed I didn't see Superman there, but never mind.

After our Maid of the Mist trip, we took a helicopter flight over the falls. I was not looking forward to that at all; I hate flying and had never been on a helicopter before. But it was fantastic. It's quite pricey as it's only an 8 minute flight but as a once in a lifetime thing, it's worth it. You get a perfect view of the horseshoe from above it and a sense of just HOW much water there is. However, I still say the Maid of the Mist is better; you feel the falls on your face, the noise of it crashes through your eardrums; it's a rush that you just don't get on the helicopter.

There is a downside to Niagara and it's an area called Clifton Hill: think Vegas only smaller. Bright neon lights flashing, amusement arcades, tacky shops, and waxwork museums containing waxwork figures that bear no resemblance to their living counterparts whatsoever. It's sad that Niagara has this blot on its otherwise pristine landscape; it should never have been allowed! You should visit Niagara for the falls, but amazingly, of the 12 million people who do visit each year, 5 million go nowhere near the falls! I find that very sad!

Summary: A sensory invasion