Tijuca National Park is a great opportunity to get to know Rio de Janeiro's rich avifauna, with endemic species of the Atlantic Forest. This is an ideal tour for those who want to start bird watching or for those more experienced birders.
Posted By : mcglashanr
Our guide, Ricardo Barbosa, was right on time, and soon had us out of the built up area and into Tijuca Park, where we birded a number of locations. Some were easy, carparks etc, others required some walking. We had 36 species by midday. Included in the drive were a number of stops at lookouts, where we had great views of Rio and the coast. The afternoon was spent at Gardin Botanico. Again very successful birding, but also a very good look at these great gardens. The next day was spent on the coastal road west of Rio. This was a great opportunity to see some remarkable scenery, but also to bird a completely different ecosystem.
We enjoyed our days with Ricardo, not only for his birding knowledge and skills, but also for the insights into Rio and Brazil that he gave us. Obrigado Ricardo.
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Posted On : 2023-12-07 18:01:27 
Posted By : Eli Jorde L
Pica-Pau Tours was one of the highlights of my trip to Rio. He answered my emails fast and was a very punctual guide.
His English is excellent, he is extremely knowledgeable about the local birds and fauna, and we had many interesting conversations about the birds that we saw.
Ricardo knew the forests that we visited well, and knew exactly where to find the different birds. A real thrill for a bird afficionado!
He used a laser marker to point out the birds to me, which made them very easy to spot. In addition, he wrote down the species type and the number of birds we looked so it was easy to keep track of the birds we saw. I could return to Norway with more than thirty different birds on my memory card!!! In other words a great success!
I went both to the Tijuca national park and Jardim Botanico, as we were so happy with our first trip.
I highly recommend Ricardo to anyone who is looking for a knowledgeable, friendly and entertaining guide.
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Posted On : 2023-02-13 17:05:23
Posted By : jerryfromalameda
We had a terrific half day with Ricardo in Tijuca National Park! We saw dozens of new-to-us birds, from showy brilliant to skulky little stream-edge hiders. Ricardo was generous with his time. But wait, there’s more! Ricardo explained cultural and historical facets of Rio as well. Without Ricardo, we would never have known that the artist behind a famous mosaic stairway self-imolated on the stairway when ten years of work was done. A tour with Ricardo is a must for any birder visiting Rio!
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Posted On : 2022-08-28 10:42:19
Posted By : Pablo_PA_Spain
Wonderful day with Ricardo in Tijuca National Park. Amazing knowledge of the avifauna there and a great teacher making a big effort to "see" all the birds. The park and Ricardo were wonderful. You will not regret this side trip during your visit to Rio. More than 60 species (most of them "lifers" for me.
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Posted On : 2022-08-18 21:42:16
Posted By : katimetzner
We spend some very interesting and beautiful days in the national park Itatiaia. Big "Thanks" to Ricardo and Pica Pau Tours. It makes so much fun and was very good organized. We saw a lot of birds and the mindblowing atlantic rainforest. I will have very good memories on this tour, it is a "must-have" for birdwatchers or nature-lovers.
Kati and Axel (Germany)
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Posted On : 2022-01-12 08:36:15
Posted By : Claire M
The most amazing 2 day trip to the national park , sooo many birds , lots of my favourite hummingbirds , butterflies, frogs ,bats & even a wolf!
Hotel that we stayed in has hummingbird feeders & the most amazing food .
Ricardo has so much knowledge & patience . Highly recommend a trip with him !
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Posted On : 2020-02-18 19:40:15
Posted By : PierreAC298
My wife and I did a half day tour with Ricardo, we originally had set January 13th but because of the heavy rains we mutually decided to cancel. We were able to arrange the tour the following day. I would give Ricardo 7 stars if I could, not only is he is a great guide and he is great person. I highly recommend!
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Posted On : 2020-01-19 12:37:49
Posted By : birdpicsxl5
Spent half day in the company of Ricardo in the Tijuca National Park early October 2019. Ricardo collected us from out hotel at 0630 hrs and returned us at 1300 hrs. We made our way to an alternative entrance to the park but first of all explored a small pocket park adjacent to this entrance, despite the overcast conditions we were rewarded with numerous photos of birds including some stunning Tanagers. At 0830 hrs we entered Tijuca, parked up and had a steady walk along some of the various trail's which provided more Tanagers, Toucans, Manakin's and others and concluded with very welcomed coffee and cake. Ricardo is an excellent guide, very knowledgeable not only about birds, but also local history, politics and culture. If we return to Brazil we would use him again, and thoroughly recommend him.
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Posted On : 2019-10-30 08:25:50
Posted By : 278draw
First... He knows his stuff. Second he knows how to read a group and adjust accordingly. Third, he is enjoyable to be around.
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Posted On : 2019-09-28 23:31:58
