Tag 40: Tijuca National Park

When we woke up this morning, we weren't quite aware of what we were getting ourselves into when we said we would go hiking in the jungle. We were both very excited to see what awaited us. Full of anticipation and proud that we hadn't brought our hiking shoes for no reason, we took an Uber taxi to Tijuca National Park. Highly motivated, we started from the waterfall where the driver dropped us off and walked along the road in search of a hiking trail that would lead us through the jungle. When we arrived at a sign that showed a yellow and a red hiking trail, and some warnings about snakes and other dangers, we decided to take the yellow route and entered the narrow path into the jungle. At first, the hike was not a problem. Of course, it was very hot and with every step, we were unsure whether we should look down or up, but it was still bearable. We simply followed the signs that said 'Conde', whatever that meant. After about 2 hours of hiking uphill in the dense jungle at 35°C, we tried to motivate ourselves with the thought that we would eventually return to the road and could then leisurely walk down the mountain. Wrong. The path became rockier and ultimately led us to the top of an 817m high mountain. Once we reached the top, we had no choice but to take a short break, enjoy the view and the moment, and then hike all the way back down before it gets dark.

All in all, the day was still very beautiful. The jungle is impressive, very loud, and offers an incredible number of animals and plants.