🌿 One of the cool things about Rio is how the beach meets the city and how the city meets the mountainous jungle. The most visited sight is Christ the Redeemer, one of the new seven wonders of the world standing on a mountain top in Tijuca National Park, the largest urban rainforest in the world. After being cleared for agriculture, Tijuca was replanted in the mid 1900s to protect Rio's water supply. Scientists calculated that it has decreased the average temperature of Rio by 9 degrees Celsius! 🌿 Being in Tijuca inspired me to read more about Brazil's (and the world's), largest rainforest: The Amazon. I knew it was big, but I had no idea it was the size of the continental US! Although it’s big, The Amazon was deforested at the rate equivalent to 10 soccer fields every minute in 2021. There are many reasons to protect the Amazon; it’s the most biodiverse place on earth, it’s home to 400 indigenous peoples communities and it has a MASSIVE impact on the global climate. Here are a few more links if you’re interested in learning more/help: 🌿 https://amazonwatch.org 🌿 https://time.com/amazon-rainforest-disappearing/ #riodejaneiro #brazil #conscioustravel