CORCOVADO

Description

Essentials about the Corcovado in brief

Together with Sugarloaf Mountain, the Corcovado is one of Rio de Janeiro’s two local mountains and one of the city’s landmarks. The 710 meter high granite rock is located in the middle of the city and marks the eastern end of the Tijuca National Park. From the observation deck at its summit, you can enjoy a magnificent view of downtown Rio and some of the city’s most famous landmarks, such as Sugarloaf Mountain, the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, and the Maracanã Stadium.

The statue of Christ the Redeemer

Even more famous than the Corcovado itself is the world-famous 38-meter-high monumental statue called Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer), enthroned on the summit, spreading his hands over Rio. It is no wonder that with such an impressive sculpture and such a magnificent view, more than 300,000 people come to the Corcovado every year.

The way up the Corcovado

There are several ways to reach the summit. Sporty fellows can go up a hiking trail that starts on the south side of the mountain in Parque Lage. If that is not enough sport for you, you can also climb the Corcovado via one of more than 50 climbing routes. If you are too tired to hike and climb, you can take a cab up the narrow serpentine road to the Corcovado.

A much greater experience, on the other hand, is the ride on the Corcovado mountain railroad, a 3.8-kilometer-long rack railroad that has been leading to the summit since 1884. The ride on the train takes about 20 minutes. Due to the high popularity of the mountain railroad, you should allow plenty of waiting time at the bottom station, especially on fair weather days.

Once at the top station, 223 steps lead up to the observation deck at the foot of the Statue of Christ Redeemer. Those who are poorly on foot can also take the more comfortable route via elevators or escalators.