Tijuca Rainforest

An urban jungle

Tijuca is a tropical rainforest in the city of Rio de Janeiro, and a national park since 1961. Today’s Tijuca is actually the result of a significant reforestation effort in the 19th century, as large areas of the rainforest around Rio were deforested to allow for sugarcane and coffee cultivation. So while this dense urban jungle with abundant vegetation and wildlife is an impressive feat of nature, the forest is in fact part man-made.

Tijuca also forms a natural boundary between the various areas of Rio, west and east, north and south. It is claimed that Tijuca is the world’s largest urban forest (though this title is disputed by Johannesburg).

Tijuca National Park

Many of Rio’s attractions including Cristo Redentor, Jardim Botânico, and Parque Lage are actually part of the Tijuca tropical rainforest. But people tend to associate Tijuca with the cluster of attractions around Alto da Boa Vista. This area makes for a great day-trip with plenty of hiking opportunities on well-marked trails lined with waterfalls, caves and viewpoints. Some of those spots are interesting, others are quite unimpressive. This area is also a popular spot for cycling.

Here are some of the more interesting points of interest:

Tijuca National Park Visitor Center

Cascatinha de Taunay

Cachoeiro do Horto

Açude da Solidão

Mayrink Chapel

Vista Chinesa

Mesa do Imperador

Pico da Tijuca

At 1012m, this is the highest point in Rio. A hike to the top will be rewarded with sweeping view across the central and northern parts of Rio (Zona Sul is obscured by the mountains).

Pedra da Gávea

This is a stunning view of Dois Irmãos and Zona Sul from from a vantage point that is even higher than Corcovado (844m). While this is definitely a challenging hike, it’s actually not as bad as it looks. The scary picture that you may come across online of people standing on a thin rock edge pressed against a vertical wall is not actually part of the trail and nothing more than a daredevil photo opportunity. However, there is one particular section of the ascent called Carrasqueira that is quite steep and requires some scrambling over rocks.

Pedra Bonita

This is a similar view to the one from Pedra da Gávea, though one that is much easier to reach. Aside from the beautiful view, this is the spot in Rio for hang gliding, a popular experience with visitors.

Tours

This is one of the places in Rio where booking a tour with a local operator can be quite useful. The attractions are remote and dispersed throughout the rainforest. The area is safe, but it might be difficult to get there on your own and have the flexibility of stopping along the way. The area around the visitor centre makes for a good half-day activity, while a more intense hike (e.g. Pico da Tijuca or Pedra da Gávea) could fill in the other half.

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We booked a half-day Tijuca Rainforest tour with Rio Adventures (https://rioadventures.com/) and had a great time with our guide Fernando. Even though we booked a group tour, it ended up being a private tour, just us two and the guide, which was a nice surprise. Having done this, I do wish we booked a longer tour allowing us to spend more time in the area. A half-day trip to the Tijuca Rainforest mostly consists of driving from one place to another. If I were to do this again, I would make sure to include one of the bigger hikes for a more balanced experience.

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