The Tijuca Forest (Floresta da Tijuca in Portuguese) is a mountainous hand-planted rainforest in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the world's largest urban forest, covering some 32 km². (Check Serra da Cantareira, São Paulo for the world's largest NATIVE urban forest)
The Tijuca Forest is home to hundreds of species of plants and wildlife, many threatened by extinction, found only in the Atlantic Rainforest (Mata Atlântica in Portuguese). After all the original forest had been destroyed to make way for coffee farms, Tijuca was replanted by Major Manuel Gomes Archer in the second half of the 19th century, in a successful effort to protect Rio's water supply.
Tijuca Forest, the green spine of Rio, also contains the colossal sculpture of Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado, with the stretch of road closed to vehicular traffic leading to it, called Paineiras; the Cascatinha Waterfall; the Mayrink Chapel with murals painted by Cândido Portinari; the light pagoda-style gazebo at Vista Chinesa outlook; and the giant granite picnic table called the Mesa do Imperador. Among its impressive peaks is the Pedra da Gávea.
In 1961, Tijuca Forest was declared a National Park.
