Day 3: 01/01 Rio de Janeiro
City tour and Sugarloaf (4 hours)
After breakfast in your hotel you will be taken to the mythical Sugarloaf mountain, protruding abruptly from out of the ground like an asteroid just fallen from space. A magnificent cable car ride will take you up to Urca Mountain, the stop off between ground level and Sugarloaf. From there you can enjoy a smooth cocktail or sample some of Brazil’s many signature dishes. Once arriving to the top of Sugarloaf mountain you will see the captivating beauty of Rio from a different angle, To your left you can see Copacabana beach stretching off into the distance, and on the horizon the faint outlines of Two Brothers and Gávea mountains. Below you is the quaint and intimate Red Beach, while to your right you can see across Guanabara Bay to Niterói and, closer in, Rio’s Botafogo and central neighborhoods, with the unmistakeable silhouette of Christ the Saviour casting its eternal gaze over the city. This trip is essential to gain a different perspective on Rio, and to truly understand its beauty.
After descending the mountain by cable car, you will head into the Old Town and Centre, where colonial architecture still remains and many old churches such as the Candelária are still in use. The cobbled streets and bright colours are a stark contrast to the whitewashed, sunsoaked streets of Ipanema but in many ways are part of the authentic, nearly-forgotten Rio of old, and one can almost feel the hustle and bustle of hundreds of years ago when these streets were filled with merchants and citizens of the Portuguese Empire.
*Due to the heavy traffic at New Year holidays, the route of the city tour may be adjusted.
*Optionally: You can take a hiking tour to Pedro de Telegrafa. (160 USD/person, min 2 people)
Do you want to be in a completely different place, but not far from Rio de Janeiro? Just an hour's drive from Copacabana is Guaratiba, an amazing place where you can have a nice walk with your family and take good photos among the beautiful landscapes with amazing sunsets.
In Guaratiba, in the western zone of Rio de Janeiro, there are a lot of natural beauties, but you have to climb the trail to the most attractive place for about an hour. The route runs through a tropical forest, where you can meet monkeys, feed them with bananas, and do not forget to take photos.
And at last we get to the famous stone, where everyone is trying to take cool photos! From here you can enjoy an incredibly beautiful view of Rio de Janeiro, a breathtaking landscape for incredible photos.