Rio de Janeiro: Between the Mountains and the Sea
No city on Earth has a more dramatic natural setting than Rio — where granite peaks plunge directly into the Atlantic, and Christ the Redeemer watches over it all with outstretched arms.
Rio de Janeiro is one of the world's great cities — not for its infrastructure or its governance, which are both imperfect, but for the sheer physical drama of its setting. The city is squeezed between the Atlantic Ocean and a series of granite peaks that rise abruptly from the coastal plain, creating a landscape of beaches, lagoons, and forested hillsides that is unlike any other major city on Earth.
The Christ the Redeemer statue, standing 30 metres tall on the summit of the Corcovado mountain at 710 metres, is the most recognisable image of Rio — and the view from its base, over the city, the Guanabara Bay, and the Atlantic, is one of the finest urban panoramas in the world. The cog railway that climbs through the Tijuca Forest to the summit is the most atmospheric way to arrive.
Copacabana and Ipanema are the world's most famous urban beaches — four kilometres of white sand flanked by the Atlantic on one side and a wall of apartment buildings on the other, where the entire social life of Rio seems to take place. The beach culture of Rio — the football, the volleyball, the caipirinha vendors, the parade of bodies — is one of the most extraordinary public spaces in the world.
The Sugarloaf Mountain (Pão de Açúcar), accessible by cable car from the Urca neighbourhood, offers the finest view of Rio at sunset — the city spread below, the Guanabara Bay glittering, the Corcovado visible in the distance. The cable car makes two stops — the first at the Morro da Urca, the second at the Sugarloaf itself — and both offer extraordinary views.
The Tijuca Forest, which covers the mountains above the city, is the world's largest urban rainforest — 32 square kilometres of Atlantic Forest that was almost entirely cleared for coffee plantations in the 19th century and then replanted by the Brazilian government. The forest is home to toucans, marmosets, and the rare golden lion tamarin, and the hiking trails through it offer a wilderness experience within 30 minutes of the city centre.
The Carnival of Rio is the world's largest carnival — five days of parades, samba, and street parties that attract two million people per day to the streets of the city. The Sambadrome parades, where the samba schools compete in elaborate costumes and floats, are the centrepiece of the official carnival, but the blocos — street parties that take place throughout the city — are where most Cariocas actually celebrate.
The best time to visit Rio is from May to September, during the dry season, when the weather is warm but not oppressively hot and the humidity is manageable. The Carnival period (February or March) is the most exciting time to visit but requires booking accommodation months in advance and accepting that the city will be at its most chaotic. The summer months (December to March) are hot, humid, and prone to heavy rain.
