Explore the Moody Gardens 10-story, glass Rainforest Pyramid, where over 1,000 species of exotic plants from the rainforests of Africa, Asia and the Americas all flourish across an acre.

Beneath the verdant canopy you'll find crashing waterfalls, gentle pools and a Mayan Colonnade.

Amidst the lush plants and trees are a wide variety of colorful orchids, violets, bromeliads, as well as colorful macaws and tropical fish. The Rainforest Pyramid is one of the most complete replicas of an actual rainforest available.

Highlights of the Rainforest Pyramid:

• Asian Rainforest: Second in size to its American counterpart, Asian tropical forests include those of Australia and the Pacific Islands, are varied and unique. Void of bromeliads, there are plenty of other epiphytes, especially aroids, ferns and orchids. Massive colonies of birds nest and staghorn ferns grow in some of the wettest areas, along with many species of pitcher plants. One of the most popular food plants in the world, bananas, originally came from the Asian tropics.
• The African Rainforest: Although the rainforest of Africa encompasses a smaller area than either of its Asian or American counterparts, it is no less interesting and unique. Many plant groups are common to all rainforest areas, but each has wildlife specific to it. African forests have large ficus, mahogany and ebony trees, orchids and African "violets". Important commercial plants originating here include coffee, castor bean, oil palm and vanilla. The rosy periwinkle, from Madagascar, is one of the most important medicinal plants from this area. Medicines derived from this plant are still the best treatment for childhood leukemia.
• The Americas Rainforest: The largest rainforest zone on Earth stretches from southern Mexico through Central America, the islands of the Caribbean and finally into South America. As one might expect, it is also the most biologically diverse. Aroids and other plants such as dieffenbachia, anthuriums, philodendrons, monstera and syngoniums abound, as do thousands of species of orchids and rainforest cacti. Exotic flowering plants, passion vines, powderpuff trees, plumeria and cattleya orchids originate here. The giant Victoria water lily inhabits the blackwater lakes of Amazonia. Important commercial crops include guava, chocolate, papaya, avocado, allspice and pineapple. The Cinchona tree from Bolivia and Peru yields one of the world's most import medicines, Quinine for the treatment of malaria. There are more than 25,000 species of plants known to exist in the Amazon alone, with many more yet to be discovered.
• The Mayan Colonnade: This is an authentic re-creation of the Mayan Colonnades from Central America. It was generically produced from a photograph of these ancient ruins to capture the fine details of this great structure.

Rainforest Pyramid Admission
General Admission: $9.95

Additional admission required for visiting other Moody Gardens exhibits.

Hours of Operation
Open Daily: 10am - 6pm

Note: Hours may be seasonal and subject to change.

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