What to see in the Rio de Janeiro Jardim Botânico, in walking order

Anyone typing o que ver no Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro wants the same thing in the end, a route. Walk in through the main gate and you meet the garden's best-known feature almost at once: a straight alley of imperial palms, tall grey trunks in a long colonnade with the canopy closing far overhead. The history page credits the director Bernardo Serpa Brandão, in post until 1851,⁶ with creating the Roystonea oleracea alley, which it calls the institution's main symbol.¹ It is the picture on every postcard and the natural first stop of any route, so give it unhurried minutes before you move on.

The palms come with a good story. A legend recorded by the garden says the imperial palm began to bear fruit in 1829, that the director had every seed burned each year to protect the garden's monopoly, and that enslaved workers climbed the trunks at night to take and sell the seeds.⁷ The same legend explains why so many Brazilian farms ended up with alleys of imperial palms.⁸ Treat it as the garden itself does, as a tale told about the place, and enjoy it while you walk beneath the trees.

If you like to follow a theme, the garden publishes a self-guided Palm Trail with 21 points and an average duration of 1h30.⁵ A 4 hour guided listing for the garden alone also names the Avenue of Royal Palms among its highlights, together with the Fountain of the Muses and the Japanese Garden. Either way the palms are best taken first, before the heat builds and while the long alley still lies in soft light, with the rest of the garden opening off its sides.

Water shapes much of the garden. Frei Leandro Lake is the stage for the giant water lilies, the round floating pads that spread across the surface in a green mosaic. The garden's animal page mentions a South American snake-necked turtle that lives in this lake and can sometimes be seen resting on a pad or swimming around.⁴ The lilies and the lake are among the stops named in the garden-only guided listing.

At the Turtle Lake you find exotic turtles that people once abandoned as pets, now basking near the fountain every day.²⁷ They are exotic, so they are not part of the garden's native wildlife, but they are easy to find and a delight for children, which is a good reason to linger by the water. Further on, the Japanese Garden was created in 1935, starting from 65 typical Japanese plants that were donated.⁹ Its carp are among the exotic fish the garden lists for its lakes.²⁹ These water gardens make a calm contrast with the long, formal palm alley.

History sits among the plants too. The garden began with a powder works and a nursery for foreign plants,³⁰ and in the ruins of the old factory there is now a play area with wooden toys and sand, plus benches, snack tables and toilets, set aside for children aged up to 10.²⁶ Next to them, the medicinal plants collection lies inside the listed wall of the factory and holds about 250 species,^12,24 so a single corner links the founding purpose, the family outing and the plants that people have used as remedies.

For a short visit, make the loop thematic and let the map do the work. The Palm Trail is built for about 1h30 and 21 points,⁵ and the Giant Trees Trail has 11 points and also averages 1h30.¹⁹ Use the Rio botanical garden map above to follow it: walk from the gate down the palm alley, bend toward the lake and the Japanese Garden, then drop into the glasshouses on the way back. You will have seen the signature sights without hurrying, and with time left for a coffee.

For a long visit, add the trails that suit your curiosity. The Endangered Species Trail has 17 points and takes about 1h30,²⁰ the Atlantic Forest Trail has 27 points and takes about 1h30,²² the Amazon Trail has 21 points and about 2h,²¹ and the Historic Trail has 78 points and about 2h30.²³ Do not try to complete them all in one go. A half day lets you finish one long trail and the glasshouses, with a break in the shade between them, which keeps the day relaxed. Wheelchair users should contact the Visitor Centre before the visit,³⁷ and nobody may feed animals or take a plant home.⁴²

Daylight limits the plan: from Thursday through Tuesday the arboretum runs 8h to 17h, while Wednesday starts at 11h and ends at the same time.⁴¹ Start early on a hot day, keep the greenhouse visits for the hottest hours, and leave the longest trail for the cooler end of the day. The outdoor Orchid Garden around the glass house is opened from 16 to 18 hours.¹⁴ Time your last stop with that in mind if the orchids are your reason for coming.