This research investigates several woods originated from trees of tropical virgin forest as raw material for the production of granular activated carbon. Mechanical strength of the activated carbons produced was related to wood hardness and lignin content but not to cellulose-lignin ratio. One of the eight woods studied (Dividivi) produced an activated carbon with a high mechanical strength similar to that produced from coconut shell, taken as a standard. Dividivi is also suggested as promissory for desert greening.