Rio Tourist Guide

 The Pedra Branca State Park is in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro and encompasses eleven neighborhoods in the city. The park is considered one of the largest urban forests in the world. There are trails of all levels that lead to beautiful viewpoints, waterfalls, natural pools, a lake and even wild beaches. The park suffers from abandonment, as the number that takes care of security is very low compared to the size of the area. The forest suffers from the advance of irregular constructions and the action of hunters, which ends up making it difficult to observe the local fauna. Pedra Branca State Park is the highest point in the city at 1025 meters high, but its view is limited due to the vegetation that surrounds the place.

 The favelas emerged in the late 19th century and spread throughout of the Rio de Janeiro city due to a project that elitized the city center. These works opened wide streets and built imposing buildings. Since most of the poor population of Rio was concentrated in the region. With that, people started to occupy some hills around the city. The favelas grew due to the massive arrival of people fleeing the misery of the states in the Northeast Region of Brazil. In the 1950s, there were communities with more than 50 thousand inhabitants, showing the lack of projects aimed at eliminating poverty in the city. Today in the city of Rio de Janeiro more than one million people live in slums. Unfortunately, there is no intention to end poverty in Brazil. In addition, these people are forced to live with bandits who dominate most of these areas, which ends up causing high levels of violence. In the picture Favela da Rocinha, the bigest favela of the Rio de Janeiro city.

 Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon is one of the main tourist spots in the city. It is approximately seven kilometers long. Its waterfront has several spaces for leisure and sports. There you can also rent bikes. The lagoon is located in the South Zone of Rio close to the neighborhoods of Leblon, Ipanema, Copacabana and Jardim Botânico. Its waters are polluted but the walk is interesting to admire the beautiful landscape that surrounds it.

 Arcos da Lapa is located in downtown Rio and serves as a viaduct for the tram that connects the Santa Teresa neighborhood to the city center. In the past, arches used to function as an aqueduct. They brought the waters of the Carioca River to supply the city. An iconic scene is when the tram passes over the arches as in the photo below.