With its wild, beautiful vegetation, its tropical trees sprawling out of many a nook and cranny, it might seems like São Paulo doesn’t need a botanical garden. But the Jardim Botânico is something special: spread across more than 350 acres of lush land, it boasts two greenhouses, a library and a museum as well as thousands of extraordinary species of tropical plants—including some extremely rare orchids.

The brainchild of naturalist Frederico Hoehne, the Jardim Botânico opened it doors to the public in 1928. Its most thrilling feature is the jungle trail, a wooden walkway through an exotic wilderness. With a bit of luck, you’ll even spy the occasional monkey flying from tree to tree…