Description

Rio de Janeiro is the second largest cityinBrazil, on the South Atlantic coast. Rio is famous foritsbreathtaking landscape, its laidback beach culture and itsannualcarnival.

The harbour of Rio de Janeiro is comprised of a unique entryfromthe ocean that makes it appear to be the mouth of ariver.Additionally, the harbor is surrounded by spectaculargeographicfeatures including Sugar Loaf mountain at 395 meters(1,296 feet),Corcovado Peak at 704 meters (2,310 feet), and thehills of Tijucaat 1,021 meters (3,350 feet). These features worktogether tocollectively make the harbor one of the Seven NaturalWonders ofthe World.

It is a common mistake to think of Rio as Brazil's capital,adistinction it lost on 21 April 1960 when newly builtBrasiliabecame the capital. Beaches such as Copacabana and Ipanema,theChrist The Redeemer (Cristo Redentor) statue, the stadiumofMaracanã and Sugar Loaf Mountain (Pão de Açúcar) are allwell-knownsights of what the inhabitants call the "marvelous city"(cidademaravilhosa), and are also among the first images to pop upintravelers´ minds, along with the Carnaval celebration.

Sadly, most people also know Rio for its violence and crime.Thedrug lords and the slums, or favelas, are the tip of veryoldsocial problems. The favelas are areas of poor-qualityhousing,slums usually located on the city's many mountainslopes,juxtaposed with middle-class neighborhoods. But now, withthe UPP's(Unidade de Polícia Pacificadora = Pacifying Police Unit)almostall the favelas are safe to go, because the police took theareafrom the drug dealers, so you can go there for someculturalgathering. A pretty calm and safe favela is "Morro doPinto". It isso calm that it doesn't look like part of this urbanRio and it isin the center of the city.

The South Zone holds most of Rio's landmarks andworld-famousbeaches, in an area of only 43.87 square km (17 mi²).Many of themare within walking distance of each other (forinstance, the SugarLoaf lies about 8 km/5 mi from Copacabanabeach). Most hotels andhostels are located in this part of thecity, which is compressedbetween the Tijuca Range (Maciço daTijuca) and the sea. There areimportant places in other regions aswell, such as Maracanã stadiumin the North Zone and the manyfascinating buildings in theCentre.

If you plan on staying in Rio for more than a couple of daysitwould be good to invest in a copy of ``How to beaCarioca``(Priscilla Ann Goslin, Livros TwoCan Ltda, R$32). Thisisan amusing look at the people of Rio and will help you enjoythecity as well as appear less of a `gringo` when you hitthestreets.