- parramore
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Editor Pick
Christ the Redeemer Statue
- November 2, 2009
- Rated 5 of 5 by
LenR from Townsville, Australia
Christ the Redeemer is a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro. The statue stands 40 metres (130 ft) tall, including its 9.5 metres pedestal, and 30 metres wide. It weighs 635 tons, and is located at the peak of the 700 metres Corcovado Mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park overlooking the city. It is a truly magnificent sight and the trip here, including the train ride, is my top experience in the city. At night, the statue is floodlit and is visible from almost every part of the city.
The idea for erecting a large statue atop Corcovado was first suggested in the mid 1850s, when Catholic priest Pedro Maria Boss requested financing from Princess Isabel to build a large religious monument. Princess Isabel did not think much of the idea and it was completely dismissed in 1889, when Brazil became a Republic, with laws mandating the separation of church and state. The second proposal for a large landmark statue on the mountain was made in 1921 by the Catholic Circle of Rio. The group organised an event called Monument Week to attract designs, donations and collect signatures to support the building of the statue. The statue of Christ the Redeemer with open arms was chosen as the winner.
After much consideration it was decided to build the structure out of reinforced concrete with an outer layer of soapstone, chosen for its enduring qualities and ease of use. Construction took nine years, from 1922 to 1931. It has been a major attraction and the symbol of Rio ever since. In 2007, Christ the Redeemer was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a list compiled by the Swiss-based The New Open World Corporation.
You can drive to the top of the mountain but the best way to get to the statue is by the Corcovado train. This was the first electrified Brazilian railroad. Inaugurated in 1884, it’s much older than the monument of Christ and was used to carry the parts of the statue to be mounted at the top of the hill. The train operates from 8:30 AM to 6:30 PM, with departures at every half-hour. Trip duration is around 20 minutes. The view from the train was alluring, giving us a keen anticipation of what was to come. The best views are obtained from the right side of the carriage.
The views from the top were just spectacular. The Redeemer’s gaze is directed at Pao de Acucar (Sugarloaf) while slightly to the right is the great Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon, Jardim Botanico and Ipanema. The statue’s left arm points to the North Zone of the city with the Maracana football stadium and the international airport clearly visible. Fortunately it was a bright sunny day and we could even see the Serra dos Orgaos mountain range in the distance.
From journal Go to Rio
Christ Redeemer & Corcovado Mountain
- September 7, 2009
- Rated 5 of 5 by
Linda Hoernke from St. George, Utah
Rio's most famous site is the Statue of Christ holding his arms wide open welcoming visitors and blessing the city of Rio. The 100 foot statue covered with mosaic soapstone stands on the hill of Corcovado, which is about 2400 feet high. There is also a small chapel at the base of the statue which is a holy pilgrimage site for Catholics. The peak of Corcovado is a granite dome with steep sides creating a vertical rocky formation. From the train terminus or the road, the foot of the statue is reached by climbing 223 steps. For those that are not up to the climb, the statue can be reached by an elevator. The original design and engineer in charge of the construction was Heitor da Silva Costa, a Brazilian. He worked with French sculptor Paul Landowski, who took almost two years working on the hands and face alone. The statue was built between 1926 and 1931 and is known worldwide. The road to the Christ Redeemer climbs the mountain and switch backs through interesting little communities. There are places to stop to take photos and to walk different short trails to view points of the Christ atop the mountain. Corcovado gets over 300,000 visitors a year, so try to get there early. From the platform on the top, the magestic views stretch as far as Copacabana, Ipanema, the Sugarloaf Mountain and several of Rios Favelas.
From journal Museums & Sites of Rio
Excellent
- July 25, 2009
- Rated 5 of 5 by
amarlisa from New Orleans, Louisiana
This is an excellent place to visit. You can get there by car or train. I took the train and enjoyed the ride with other visitors. If you decide to go with the train and did not take a taxi you must go really slow when trying to find the place. It does not have a big sign advertising Corcovado but ask around; locals are happy to point you in the right direction.
When in the top you can admire all of Rio de Janeiro's views. Do not expect a great photo of your family by yourself without several tries if there is plenty of people around.
Editor Pick
Christ the Redeemer
- June 27, 2008
- Rated 5 of 5 by
Valerita from Montevideo, Uruguay
My Visit to One of the Seven Wonders of the World
Our visit to the Corcovado was the highest point of our trip to Rio. We had the first glance of the statue in our way to Buzios. He was there, waiting with this arms open as if he was receiving us. We continue our way to Buzios, spent six amazing days there and then returned to Rio for a three day stay. You immediately fall in love with this city; the energy that radiates is unbelievable. What I found most interesting was the contrast that you can see everywhere: mountains, the see, a forest in the middle of the city, the favelas, luxury buildings, etc, etc.
It was Saturday, our penultimate day in Rio. We woke up very early and headed to the restaurant to have breakfast. After charging our batteries (this applies both for our camera batteries and our tummies), we decided that we had time to go to the beach and went to Ipanema. We returned to the hotel and at 11 o’clock Marcelo, the taxi driver, pick us up. There are three ways to go to the Corcovado: a taxi, a van, and the train. Our agency had arranged us a taxi and it was fine for us. Marcelo turned to be not just a taxi driver but also a tourist guide, willing to tell us the history of the city and of the monuments and buildings that call our attention on our way to the Christ.
We started going through the Tijuca National Forest when suddenly we notice a traffic jam some meters ahead of us. Ok, let’s not worried, in some minutes the traffic will be normal again, we thought. It was not. We were informed that there was a protest of taxi drivers and that there was no way we could go up. We were returning to Montevideo the next day, so that was the only chance we have to visit the Christ. With deep sadness and disappointment we started our way down when we heard on the radio that access was possible by train. So we went to Cosme Velho Station, bought the R$36 ticket and in 15 minutes we were boarding the train.
The ride through the Tijuca National Park is gorgeous; it’s the biggest urban forest in the world. And when we got to the top…the city was at our feet. We had waited for that moment for a long time, and after being there we tried to enjoy every single second, every single view. The statue is huge, much bigger than what I thought it would be. Located at the peak of the Corcovado hill, 700 meters high, the Christ stands almost 40 meters and weights 700 tons. It was made of “soap” stone by the French-Polish sculptor Paul Landowski.
The train operates from 8.30am to 6.30pm and the trip to the top lasts around 20 minutes.
From journal Rio de Janeiro, City of Contrasts
Must-take Tour in Rio de Janeiro
- May 13, 2008
- Rated 5 of 5 by
lmsuntan from San Diego, California
If you're visiting Rio de Janeiro there's a full-day tour offered by Brazil Expedition that you can't miss! It started at 10am with a short hike to the top of Pedra Bonita where we saw the best view of the beaches in Rio and the jump off platform for hangliders. Next we drove through the Tijuca National Forest (in a jeep that makes you feel like Indiana Jones:) all the way to the top to see the famous Christ Statue. Afterwards we went to see the old neighborhood of Santa Teresa where we saw quaint buildings and cables cars similiar to those seen in San Francisco. The last stop was these secret steps in downtown Lapa that an artist built with tiles from all over the world and then they dropped us off at Sugarloaf mountain just in time to see the sunset. It was an unforgettable day and very unique way to see one of the most beautiful and diverse cities in the world! The guides were great and spoke great english so we were able to hear about the history of these places and some insider tips and the price was unbeatable! They also offer tours to soccer games at Maracana stadium and other sight in and around Rio that you can find on their website www.brazilexpedition.com. It was the best day and money spent while I was in Rio and I highly recommend it to all!