Best Rain Forest


Important: This article was last updated on September 21, 2005. Please call ahead to confirm hours, prices, dates and other information.

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Flamingo Gardens
3750 S. Flamingo Road, Davie, 954/473-2955, www.flamingogardens.org

 The 60-acre Flamingo Gardens sanctuary preserves South Florida as it once was with, among other attractions, lush flowering gardens, massive live oaks, exotic Everglades swamp life, a walk-through aviary, dozens of fanning peacocks (many of them stationed in trees) and, of course, flamingos. But unless you take the tram tour through the grounds, you won't get to see and feel the rain forest that makes a visit here even more memorable. Set on a natural ridge that originally extended from Dania Beach to the Everglades, the forest is thick with foliage and canopied trees that hold in moisture and keep the sun out. Comprising roughly five acres, the parcel is about three to eight degrees cooler than its surroundings, and the oxygen-rich air has an embracing freshness comparable to a breeze off the ocean.