Rio Highlights Express: Christ, Sugarloaf & Beaches Half Day Tour.

After leaving your hotel we’ll drive towards Cosme Velho neighborhood. On the way we’ll pass Palacio Guanabara and start the day going all the way up to the summit of Corcovado Mountain at 2,100 feet to visit the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue. Places we will drive by on the way to the first attraction depend on your hotel location.

One of the nicest areas in Rio this tidal lagoon connects with the sea and it is surrounded by a bike lane.

On the way to Corcovado Mountain we’ll drive through this neighborhood that was once the home for most embassies in Brazil when Rio was the country capital.

This is one of the ways to reach the Christ Monument on top of Corcovado Mountain. The cogwheel train runs up and down the mountain every 20 or 30 minutes taking 120 passengers each time. The admission ticket includes the visit to the Christ Monument.

We’ll cross the Tijuca National Park on the way to Corcovado Mountain. The diverse fauna and lush vegetation of the park can be observed.

The visitors center was created in 2013 and houses an environmental education center and can be visited when going to the Christ Monument by minibus.

The iconic monument, located inside the Tijuca National Park, is reachable by train or van, and the ride through Tijuca Forest is quite pleasant. Going by van we’ll make a quick stop at the Paineiras Visitors Center and take a shuttle van to reach the monument. The train does not stop at the visitors center. At the monument we’ll enjoy one of the most beautiful views of the city.

Tijuca Forest is the largest reforested urban forest in the world. The forest takes 10% of the city area and houses the Tijuca National Park.

After the first highlight, we’ll drive along Rodrigo de Freitas Lake to reach Rio’s southern beaches. Starting at Leblon neighborhood, we’ll stop for pictures at Mirante do Leblon, or at Parque do Penhasco Dois Irmaos.

Very nice beach in the most expensive neighborhood in South America.

The most fashionable beach in town.

A rock at the end of Ipanema Beach considered one of the best spots in Rio to observe the sunset during the summer.

This worldwide famous beach is also the area where most hotels are located in Rio.

The seaside avenue in Copacabana is the most famous beach area in Rio.

A less busy beach located at the very far end of Copacabana.

At the very end of Copacabana we’ll stop at Leme Beach for some more pictures. From there we’ll drive to the second most visited attraction in Rio.

Guanabara Bay is 100 miles in diameter and has its 1 mile wide entrance at the foot of Sugarloaf Mountain.

This was the home of Princess Isabel, the daughter of Brazil’s second emperor. Today the beautiful building houses the headquarter of Rio de Janeiro State government.

A small and picturesque neighborhood is located at the foot of Sugarloaf Mountain.

This solid granite wall rises above the entrance of Sugarloaf cable car. Here we’re very likely to observe climbers trying to reach the mountain summit.

If you’re a hiker and rather access the monument by hiking trail, we’ll start out ascent from Claudio Coutinho Trail at the left hand side of Praia Vermelha. The hiking trail will take us to Morro da Urca, from where we’ll take a cable car to reach Sugarloaf Mountain.

At the foot of Urca Mountain lies a small and beautiful beach with red sand and surrounded by mountains in both sides.

This flat trail located at the base of Sugaloaf Moutain is a place for a short walk looking for marmoset monkeys with Sugarloaf and the Red Beach as background.

The round shape of this mountain next to Sugarloaf reminded the Portuguese a ship used to carry sugar. This is the first step to reach Sugarloaf Mountain by cable car.

Sugarloaf is a monolithic solid granite block over 1,200 feet above sea level, located at the very entrance of Guanabara Bay in Rio. The access to the monument is at Urca neighborhood. The monument can be reached by taking 2 cable cars straight to the summit of Sugarloaf, or by a combination of hiking trail and cable car. The cable car station at Urca is at the foot of Morro da Babilonia, and the Swiss-made cable car will take us first to Morro da Urca, and then we’ll take another cable car to reach the summit of Sugarloaf Mountain. If you’re a hiker and rather access the monument by hiking trail, we’ll start out ascent from Claudio Coutinho Trail at the left hand side of Praia Vermelha. The hiking trail will take us to Morro da Urca, from where we’ll take a cable car to reach Sugarloaf Mountain. The views are spectacular during the entire trip. Once you reach the summit of Sugarloaf, we’ll enjoy Rio’s skyline from a different perspective.