Tijuca National Park

Tijuca is often described as the largest urban forest in the world, and the claim needs qualifying: at around thirty-two square kilometres it is smaller than Pedra Branca State Park on the other side of the same city, so what makes Tijuca remarkable is not size but origin. The hills had been cleared for coffee by the mid-nineteenth century, and Rio's water supply failed as a result; from 1861 Major Manuel Gomes Archer and a small crew of enslaved and freed workers replanted them by hand, setting out tens of thousands of seedlings over more than a decade. What grew back is now a functioning Atlantic forest with howler monkeys, agoutis, toucans and reintroduced species, and it holds Corcovado, the Cascatinha waterfall, the Chinese View and the Mayrink chapel.

What you actually see

• A forest planted by hand - replanted from coffee land beginning in 1861.
• Working Atlantic forest - howler monkeys, agoutis and toucans inside the city.
• Cascatinha and the Chinese View - the nineteenth-century park set pieces.
• Corcovado on its ridge - the peak that rises out of the park.

When to go

April to October, the drier months. A day. Start early for the wildlife.

Honest expectations

The park is split into sectors that are not connected by road, so a day usually means choosing one. Public transport to the entrances is poor and organised transport or taxi is the practical option. Trails are slippery after rain, and some are advised to be walked in groups.

Nearby

Corcovado is inside the park; Santa Teresa and the Botanical Garden are below.