Tijuca Forest · The Forest the City Grew Back

Tijuca Forest is one of the largest urban forests in the world: it grows on the hills of Rio, with waterfalls, caves and walking trails inside the city, and a few steps in you have to look up.

The forest was replanted in the nineteenth century — the slopes had been cut over for coffee plantations, and water shortage forced people to put the trees back one by one, including saplings brought from overseas.

Old aqueducts and plaques stand along the trails. The locals have a saying: all of Rio’s rain starts in this forest.

Natural Mysteries / Rio de Janeiro · Brazil / Time immemorial