The Christ Statue on Corcovado Mountain

The image of the Christ Statue on Corcovado overlooking Rio is for sure among the most well known in the world. When I got here to Rio the first time I actually didn´t know that there were two famous hills in Rio; The hill with the statue and the Sugarloaf, the latter has a cable car and is a completely different hill.

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Also referred to as Christ the Redeemer (in Portuguese Cristo Redentor) is located more than 700 meters above the sea on top of Corcovado Mountain and offer a fantastic view of the city. Being one of The Seven New Wonders of the World you realize it is really something to see. There are basically 4 ways to reach the top:

Bus + Train From Zona Sul you can catch local bus from Copacabana and Ipanema 583 or 584 and from Largo do Machado 422 or 498 - they go to Cosme Velho where the train leaves from. The train leaves every 30 minutes 8:30h/18:30h everyday, the price is 36 R$ (children 5 to 12 years half the price and under 5 for free) roundtrip. Check out the official train site by clicking here .

Taxi + Van Another option is to get a cab driver to take you to the van station, the last bit you cannot go with car anymore, the city has vans that operate that stretch. Negotiating a price is not hard. You´d be spending around 30 R$ per person for a deal where tha cabbie waits for you to go up and come down and then take you home. (minimum 2 persons). The van is 12R$ per person. (information added in July 2008)

Organized Tours There are quite a few organized day tours and many times the Christ Statue is included.

Hiking From the lake side, close to Parque Lage there is a trail going to the top of Corcovado (it is not easy to find the entrance). It takes a few hours to get up there and you´ll get some spectacular views. A word of warning; Unfortunately there has been quite a few robberies on this trail so it may be a good idea to leave the camera at home.

Weekends it gets really crowded. Make sure the weather is good, being high above sea level in a rainforest it is not uncommon to have zero visibility. Phone number to the train company is 2558-2700. The Christ Statue in Rio is definitely one of the most spectacular places I have ever been to, you should go there!

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