part of the park, The
tijuca forest in its
present form traces back to King
Dom Pedro II who, realizing the damage done to the city's water
supply by the coffee and sugar
cane plantations, implemented the
replanting of the forest with an estimated 10 million trees.
popular today with hikers and nature
lovers, this forest has actually played
a most significant role in the history of the city throughout
the centuries.
originally a tropical
rainforest, then a
sugar plantation, later a
coffee plantation, and then again
restored into a forest, this area is as
rich of history as it is
of
flora
& fauna.