Rio de Janeiro Attractions

Floresta da Tijuca

The Tijuca Forest is a 12-mile mountainous hand-painted rainforest, the world’s largest urban forest. After the original forest was destroyed to accommodate coffee farms, Tijuca was replanted in the second half of the 19th century to protect Rio’s water supply.
Now declared a National Park, Tijuca Forest is home to hundreds of species of plants and wildlife, many threatened by extinction. It also contains a number of attractions; most notably the colossal sculpture of Christ the Redeemer, atop Corcovado mountain. Other attractions include the Cascatinha Waterfall, and the Mayrink Chapel.