There’s a reason why Rio is “THE MARVELLOUS CITY”.Its peaks,beautiful beaches, the forest cover and the monuments earned it a World heritage tag for UNESCO. When you are in Rio, its natural to want to explore one of the forests. There is no better place to begin, than the Tijuca biosphere reserve.
We were picked from our hotel in an open jeep(and so the adventure began). In about 10 minutes we reached the outskirts of the forest. It drizzled every now and then, The jeeps come with a cover, just in case.On the way we marvelled at the various favelas. How varied the landscape of the city is; it really amazes you! The jeep ride was so much fun by itself.
We entered the rainforest, leaving the citylife behind. The guide started describing the place. We were surprised to know that it was a man-made forest. People of rio planted an entire forest, which restored their water cycle and helped them prevent soil erosion. Hearing this, we got more hooked on to the trip.
The further we went, the more we began to appreciate the biodiversity. There were butterflies, different trees, species we had never seen before.
The most intriguing of all were the trees called Embauba. A hollow tree trunk where ants live and protect themselves from predators. In return the ants protect the tree👏. The Embaúba (Cecropia obtusifolia) is a Brazilian tree known for regenerating the forests! The species produces a large quantity of seeds: it is estimated that about one million of them can be found in only one kilo. This tree is found in riparian woods mainly of the Atlantic forest, and three other biomes: “Cerrado” thick forests, “Pantanal” wetlands, and Amazon Rainforest.
We went to Vista chinese, but the rain blocked the view, so we moved on.
Next was the place where hulk2 was shot.Luckily the rain stopped so we got on our foot for a short trek.We walked by a river,visited the chapel, visitors center where there is info on various animal species you can spot in the area.
We came to the Taunay waterfall, the most beautiful place in the whole trip . No doubt they chose it as a location in ‘The Hulk’. This is where hulk wakes up in the jungles of Guatamela.
There is no end to exploring this amazing National Park. I wish every city did something like this. We wouldnt have to catch a flight or take a trip faraway to show our kids a glimpse of rainforest.It would be just outside our cities.The Biodiversity will amaze you. So pick your raincoat and water bottle, and explore the most amazing urban rainforest ever. 🌂🦋
VIAKATION 