The Jardim Botânico is a definite must-see. Its one of my favourite places in Rio. Here's some of the 200 year-old history and a few pics of palms, mango trees, orchids.
Shortly after the Portuguese Royal Family arrived in Rio de Janeiro in 1808, the Prince Regent Dom Joao created a horticultural garden on lands around the Rodrigo de Freitas lake (Lagoa), that were part of an extensive sugar-cane plantation and sugar mill. The original purpose was the cultivation of plants brought from India and the East Indies, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, cloves, mangos and jackfruit.
Shortly after the Portuguese Royal Family arrived in Rio de Janeiro in 1808, the Prince Regent Dom Joao created a horticultural garden on lands around the Rodrigo de Freitas lake (Lagoa), that were part of an extensive sugar-cane plantation and sugar mill. The original purpose was the cultivation of plants brought from India and the East Indies, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, cloves, mangos and jackfruit.
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| Under the Imperial Palms |
In 1809, the first of the Imperial Palms, which have become symbolic of the gardens, was planted. The French had originally taken seeds of this palm from the Antilles to Mauritius and, at the time, these were being cultivated in the Pamplemousse Gardens. Then the Portuguese, who were also trading in the Indian Ocean, managed to smuggle out a few seeds of their own and present them to the Royal Family in Rio. This first palm became known as Palma Mater as all Imperial Palms subsequently planted in Brazil descended from this tree, which first flowered in 1829. Today the palms are 40 metres tall and border avenues within the botanic gardens. You can also spot Imperial Palms in other gardens and lining roads (despite the Royal Family ordering excess seeds to be destroyed, so as not to vulgarise the Imperial Palm, slaves also managed to play the seed-smuggling game and sell them on!).
In 1822, with the independence of Brazil from Portugal, the gardens were first opened to the public and today’s layout, as a botanic garden, began to take shape. It included the planting of avenues of mango trees, which still to this day remain, almost 200 years on. Nowadays there are 6500 species of plants, including 700 species of orchids, a huge variety of palms from all over the world and a hillside covered in rain-forest.
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| Under huge mango trees, planted in the 1820s |
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| Bronze sculpture from the 1790s |
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| Peace and tranquility in a busy city |
