Toronto Day 4: Niagara Falls

So today I wasn’t technically in Toronto. Instead, I went to nearby Niagara Falls to view the famous waterfalls and rapids located there. Niagara Falls is located roughly 2 hours away from Toronto. I booked a bus ticket with Coach Canada (but you can also choose Greyhound) for about 30 dollars for a return. I left  around 9.30 AM and returned around 10 PM: absolutely beat, but an amazing experience richer.

Niagara Falls

The Falls are a major tourist attraction and have been for more than 100 years. A popular tourist attraction is the Maid of the Mist boat ride which takes your right to the bottom of the waterfalls and it has been around since the mid 1800s. Interesting fact is that the falls are moving north slowly but surely. The power of the water breaks of parts of the river bed making the falls move backwards as time goes by.

There are two separate falls: the American Falls and the Horseshoe Falls. The best view of both of them is from the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. There is also a US or American side as the Niagara River is the natural border between the two countries. So when you look across the river you see a completely different country.

US/ Canadian border on Rainbow Bridge

I arrived in Niagara Falls around noon and it was only a 30 minute walk to the Falls. There I immediately set out for the Maid of the Mist boat ride. I had heard it was quite impressive as you get so close to the waterfalls that you can feel the pull of the water and see the falls literally come towards you. And impressive it was. Seeing so much water hurtle itself downwards and towards you is amazing and you can feel the pull of the currents underneath the boat. I managed to take some pictures while I was on the boat. Wrapped in a very charming (nah-uh) blue plastic rain coat I tried to hang on and not lose my camera at the same time.

American Falls

American Falls with great rock foundation

Horseshoe Falls

Here comes the water…

… and the mist

After getting sprayed with mist I had a hot dog in the food court, bought a ticket for the bus so I could see more than just the falls and went to my first stop: Table Rock which is the main vista point to see the falls. Afterwards I took a bus all the way to the end of the line, got off and walked till my legs were tired. The falls are part of a national park so there was much more pretty to see. After taking a bus back to the falls I snapped some more pictures and had dinner with a yummy summer salad at a restaurant overlooking the Falls.

Top of the Horseshoe Falls

Wall of water

Me @ Horseshoe falls getting sprayed with mist

Niagara river with American Falls

Horseshoe falls with Maid of the Mist boat

Me with American Falls @ Table Rock

Whirlpool rapids – some of the most dangerous rapids in the world

Snack time: frozen banana (delicious!)

Floral Clock

Power generation – putting the river to use

Rapids from Thompson’s Point @ Niagara River

Summer salad at Edgewater restarurant

At the end of the day I was absolutely beat from getting ‘rained on’, all the walking and being outside in the sun all day. I took a bus around 7.30 PM and was back in Toronto about 2.5 hours later. Tomorrow will be my last day in Toronto and I have decided to take it easy again and go to Centre Island as the weather will be nice and I haven’t been able to get a proper view of the Toronto skyline.