Rio de Janeiro: Jeep Tour to Tijuca Forest & Botanical Garden

Tijuca Forest and Botanical Garden in Rio de Janeiro

The Botanical Garden, created in 1817 by the king D.João IV, bound for the culture of exotic plants brought form all over the world, is a unique park due its the variety of species. Among them, we can find the Imperial Palm Trees, huge water lilies (Victorias-Regias), and some Red Wood trees (Pau Brasil) almost extinguished in the Atlantic Forest. Also, in its famous greenhouse, there are more than 500 kinds of orchids.

Next, we visit the Tijuca Atlantic Forest, the largest urban forest in the world stopping at the Chinese View belvedere with a magnificent view of the Ipanema and Copacabana beaches, the Guanabara Bay and the Sugar Loaf. During the tour, usually we can see tropical animals like monkeys, monkey sloths and exotic birds.

On the way back to the hotel, we stop at the Pepino Beach to watch the hang gliders.