Description: There were three must-see attractions that we were determined to see in Rio – Copacabana beach, Christ the Redeemer statue and Pão de Açucar, or Sugarloaf. Rising sheer out of the sea and towering almost 400 meters above Guanabara Bay, Sugarloaf separates the bay from the Atlantic Ocean. A dizzying two-stage cable car ride takes you to the top of the mountain, where the views are nearly as spectacular as those from the top of Corcovado Mountain. As condors soar past you, you will be able to look out over the mountains and forests of Corcovado and Tijuca, and over the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema. More than a million tourists come here every year to enjoy breathtaking views of the entire region.
A cable car joins both hills with the base station with the first hill while a second goes from here to the top. The ground station is located on Pasteur Avenue, in barrio de Urca. Access to the cable car is located across the General Tiburcio square and tickets for both legs are sold at the ground station for $8 per person. The base station has souvenir stores, toilets, an information office, schedule boards and photographs of the cable car history. The service runs every 30 minutes from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm.
The first leg of the ride ends at Morro de Urca. The totally glazed cabin of the cable car allows you to get a fantastic aerial view of the region. An Urca there is a wide platform with trails through vegetation and natural observation posts are located at different heights. From there, you can see Copacabana beach, the port, the Christ statue, Guanabara Bay and Niteoroi. There are restaurants, fast-food bars, souvenir stores and toilets here.
The second leg goes to the top of the Sugarloaf. It is also a marvellous ride with even more breathtaking 360-degree views over the region. There is a trail with native forest around the top of the hill and, as in Urca, fast-food shops, souvenir stores and toilets can be found on this platform. Prices are moderate, so you can sit down and enjoy the view while eating or drinking. The views from here are great and they are different from Corcovado
After you have been to the top its worth looking around this area before racing off. At the bottom of the mountain you will find the small but perfectly formed Praia Vermelha beach, a military barracks (making this perhaps the safest neighborhood in Rio) and a delightful short trail that will take you along a path overhung by trees. The Urca residential area has shaded trees with an eclectic mix of architecture of everything from art-deco to modernist houses backed by manicured gardens. Walk north and you will see fishermen casting lines from the seawall
A city tour bus called Turisto City Rio -orange and blue line- has a stop at General Tiburcio Square, across from the station. Several public buses also serve this area. There are also numerous companies running half day tours which collect you from your hotel and also usually include a central city tour before heading for Sugarloaf. These are very convenient and because of the competition are reasonably priced.
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