An easy taste of the replanted Atlantic forest in the Tijuca National Park: from the Alto da Boa Vista gate to the Cascatinha Taunay waterfall, the 1855 Mayrink chapel with copies of Portinari paintings, and the visitor centre, starting point of the park's trails.
Best time: Morning on a dry day: walkers and cyclists can enter the Floresta sector from 06:00, cars 08:00-17:00 (limited numbers), and everyone must leave by 18:00. The park closes entirely when strong winds are forecast.
The route, stop by stop
- 1Praça Afonso Viseu (park entrance)
Square in Alto da Boa Vista at the start of the Floresta sector; best reached by taxi or app car. 5 min
- 2Cascatinha Taunay
Waterfall with the stone bridge that engineer Job de Alcântara built for the imperial government in 1860. 20 min
- 3Capela Mayrink
Small pink chapel in the forest, built in 1855 by the owner of Fazenda Boa Vista and renamed in 1896; the altar has replicas of four paintings by Cândido Portinari. 15 min
- 4Centro de Visitantes (Floresta sector)
Visitor centre built in 2001 with a permanent exhibition on the forest; the Picos and Vale Histórico trail circuits are in this sector. The park warns that mobile signal is weak: stay on marked trails. 20 min
More walks in Rio de Janeiro
- Praça XV to São Bento: the colonial and imperial centre
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- Cinelândia to Lapa: belle époque avenues, the aqueduct and the Selarón steps
- Santa Teresa by bonde and on foot
- Glória, Catete and the Aterro do Flamengo
- Urca: Praia Vermelha, the Cláudio Coutinho path and the Mureta at sunset
- Leme to Arpoador along Copacabana beach
- Ipanema to Leblon: bossa nova streets and the Mirante
- Parque Lage, the Botanical Garden and the Lagoa
- Laranjeiras and Cosme Velho: Parque Guinle to the Corcovado train
- Niterói by ferry: Caminho Niemeyer to the MAC