with an incredible 137 acres of land, 54 of them cultivated, dedicated to the promotion and conservation of plant and wild life, rio's jardim botânico is considered one of the ten most important botanical gardens globally.

the jardim botânico was created in 1808, by then prince regent of brazil and portugal, dom joão vi, initially to house and acclimatize the plant species that had been brought to brazil, from europe, and the spices that came from the east indies.

the initial activities of the gardens were set out by previous research projects, which had been conducted in portugal, and consisted of various experiments with vegetable and floral species.

it was in 1822, the year of brazilian independence, that the gardens were opened up to the public, by dom joão vi's son, dom pedro i.