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When the Portuguese arrived, the area which is now the city
of Rio was covered by dense green tropical forest. As the
city grew the trees were felled and the timber used in
construction or for charcoal. However, if you look up from
the streets of Zona Sul today, the mountains running
southwest from the Corcovado are still covered with
exuberant forest, the periphery of the Parque Nacional da
Tijuca (daily 7am-9pm; free) which covers an area of
approximately 120 square kilometers, and is maintained by
Brazil's State Institute of Forestry (IBDF).
In the seventeenth century the forests of Tijuca were cut
down for their valuable hardwood and the trees replaced by
sugar cane and, later, coffee plantations and small-scale
agriculture. In the early nineteenth century the city
authorities became alarmed by a shortage of pure water and
by landslides from the Tijuca slopes. Eventually it was
decided that a concerted effort was needed to restore Rio's
watershed and, in 1857, a reforestation project was
initiated: by 1870 over 100,000 trees had been planted and
the forest was reborn. Most of the seeds and cuttings that
were planted were native to the region, and today the park
serves as a remarkable example of the potential for the
regeneration of the Atlantic forest.
Following on from the success of the forest, the IBDF has
gradually been reintroducing fauna. The forest is once again
the home of insects and reptiles, ocelots, howler monkeys,
agoutis, three-toed sloth and other animals. Most successful
of all has been the return of birdlife , making
Tijuca a paradise for birdwatchers. Overstretched park
rangers have had a difficult time in recent years preventing
residents of the eight neighboring favelas from
hunting wildlife to eat or to sell.
Organized Tours
Alternatively, you can join an organized tour of the
park. Most of those offered by hotels and travel agents
involve nothing more strenuous than a short walk along a
paved road, but more personal - and infinitely more
rewarding - are the tours run by Rio Hiking (tel
021/245-4036 or mobile 9721-0594, www.riohiking.com.br),
which take small groups of people on half- or full-day hikes
along the park's many trails. Operating at weekends and on
some weekdays too, the tours are led by Denise Werneck and
her son Gabriel, both of whom speak excellent English and
are extremely knowledgeable about the park's biodiversity.
Rio Hiking also run occasional three-day walking trips to
Ilha Grande and Itatiaia National Park.
Finally, for a bird's-eye view of the forest, take off with
an experienced pilot on a tandem hang-glider flight
from the Pedra Bonita ramp on the western edge of the park,
520m above the beach at São Conrado. Flights last between
ten and thirty minutes, flying alongside the mountains and
over the forest and ocean before landing on the beach at São
Conrado. Flights are daily (usually 10am-3pm) when weather
permits and cost $80 including pick-up and drop-off from
your hotel. Reservations on tel 021/268-0565, 259-5532, or
mobile 9985-7540.
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Routes into the park
The park offers lots of walks and some excellent views of
Rio, and though areas of it have been burnt by forest fires
it remains an appealing place to get away from the city for
a few hours. Buses don't enter the park, so a car is
useful if you plan to do an extensive tour: you can go in
via Cosme Velho bairro, near the Entrada dos
Caboclos , and follow Estrada Heitor da Silva Costa.
(Areas of the park are used as terrenos, places where
candomblé and umbanda ritual ceremonies are
performed: caboclos is the collective name for the
spirits involved in these cults.) An alternative entrance is
at Rua Leão Pacheco, which runs up the side of the Jardim
Botânico (off Rua Jardim Botânico) and leads to the
Entrada dos Macacos and on to the Vista Chinesa ,
above the Museu Histórico da Cidade in Gávea. From here
there's a marvellous view of Guanabara Bay and the Zona Sul.
Both of these entrances lead to different roads that run
through the park, but they converge eventually in the
bairro of Alta da Boa Vista . If you're intent
upon walking , you should be warned that even the
shorter trip from the Entrada dos Macacos will mean a hot,
dehydrating climb for more than 20km.
If you don't have your own transport, it's much easier to
aim for the area to the north of the park known as the
Floresta de Tijuca . Take a bus to Alto da Boa Vista
(#221 from Praça XV de Novembro; #233 or #234 from the
Rodoviária; #133 from Rua Jardim Botânico) and get off at
Praça Alfonso Viseu near the Entrada da Floresta ,
with its distinctive stone columns. A few hundred meters
after the entrance (where you can buy a map , though
the main paths are well signposted) is a 35-metre-high
waterfall and, further on, the Capela do Mairynk ,
built in 1860, but virtually completely rebuilt in the
1940s. The chapel's most interesting feature is the three
altar panels painted by Cândido Portinari, one of Brazil's
greatest twentieth-century artists. In fact, the originals
now form part of the much depleted collection of the Museu
de Arte Moderna and those in the chapel are reproductions.
The lush forest is full of secluded grottos and waterfalls,
but do use the map as it's possible to wander off the beaten
track. If you have the energy for an all-day climb, you can
go all the way to the Pico do Papagaio (975m) or
Pico da Tijuca (1021m) - peaks in the far north of the
forest, above the popular picnic spot known as Bom Retiro
. The whole park is a good place for a picnic; come well
supplied with drinks and snacks as vendors are few and far
between.
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