TOP SIGHTS IN THE CARNIVAL CAPITAL OF RIO DE JANEIRO

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The last stop on our South American adventure was specifically chosen to be the carnival capital of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro. We wanted to end the trip on a high and following our time in Praia do Forte, we needed things to get back to a faster pace. although we weren’t able to be in Rio for the New Year’s carnival, we experienced all the hype leading up to the main event.

We picked The Belmond Copacabana Palace as our base for 3 nights, which as the names suggests has a prime location on Copacabana beach and is quite the place to celebrity spot!

Being in Rio we had a jam packed Itenary, which focussed very heavily on the sights rather than the foodie destinations for once. There was a lot to get through and we also wanted to come back and relax and actually make use of all the amenities in the Belmond Copacabana Palace. Therefore we were yoyo-ing from hotel to sights quite a bit but nevertheless Rio is a major bucket-list destination and we crammed in as much as we could. So lets get started because this is going to be a bit of a long one!!

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CHRIST THE REDEEMER (CRISTO REDENTOR)

We had pre-arranged with our tour agents, latinanamericaforless, that we wanted to get to the most iconic statue in South America as early as possible as the place gets crowded meaning it’s pretty difficult to get photos and a real perspective of the views from Corcovado Mountain. Therefore they ensured that we had the earliest tickets possible for the 08:30 entry. We had transport waiting so at 07:45 after a hearty breakfast on a gloriously hot day we headed to see Cristo do Redentor. Once at the entrance terminal, we took a tram along with not as many people as expected to the top (takes around 20-25 minutes), you then have a short uphill walk before you get a proper glimpse of the statue.

It is at this point you need to get yourself to infront of the statue as soon as possible and take all the shots/selfie style and anything else desired with you in them as within a matter of seconds the place will be engulfed by people. I didn’t fully appreciate how fast this happens but we made it. Instead of looking at the views we just headed for the statue and got our pics! Don’t also be shy to ask someone to take a photo for you. Come on guys it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and everyone’s there for the same reason!!

Next I would recommend just walking out of the crowds a little and looking out over to Sugar Loaf Mountain, the sea and you’ll see views of the beaches around you. Just standing there and taking in the enormity of the statue. You are at one of the World’s Wonders, it’s a big deal I think but for me I was actually more interested in the views. I’m going to say, it’s pretty darn amazing but the statue of Liberty was better! OMG, I said it!

We had the opportunity to visit twice, therefore I can share a slightly overcast view with a perfect blue sky view!

Booking wise, you can buy tickets online and I would definitely say do this and get there as early as you can because you really don’t want to be shoving people out of the way. I cannot re-iterate this enough. Go early, get the pic, be blown away by the views and get the tram back and carry on with the sights!

SUGARLOAF MOUNTAIN

Firstly I just wanted to say that Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf Mountain are 2 separate sights! It may be obvious but I know many others have been confused about this. Once I started to do my research I was put straight. Christ the Redeemer provides magnificent views over the bay and of Sugarloaf Mountain however Sugarloaf Mountain really does provide the views over the city, Copacabana Beach and its’ just magical, I would say it’s actually blow-out!

Once dropped off at the entry or reception point for Sugarloaf Mountain, you take a cable car up to a platform from where you can arrange a helicopter ride or take some cool photos.. However to get the full sweeping view, you take another cable car up to the upper terminal point. Here is where you will have those views of Christ the Redeemer as we did and we spotted the famous Copacabana beach by the long stretch of white powdery sand.

Just to note if you want a good shot of yourself with the mountain in the background, it’s best to do this at the first viewing platform as otherwise the next cable car takes you to the mountain!

The views truly are spectacular and you can grab a Caipirinha or two form the restaurant and bar at the top of the mountain and watch those views just go on and on for quite literally days!

Rio is a city of views and boy are they close to perfect but if I had a choice, I would of course stick with Sugarloaf, however Christ the Redeemer is a must do tourist sight if you’re going all that way!

RIO DE JANEIRO – THE CITY TOUR

Rio is an interesting and diverse city and we embarked on a private tour. Essentially we hired a driver and a local English speaking guide who helped us manoeuvre the city in the little time we had to all our points of interest we had noted during our research. Here are some of the photos from our day exploring the city with local expertise.